Konoha's Orange Eyesore
by Sandafairy
Summary: Due to an incident involving the villagers one fateful night, Naruto is thrown into a different type of childhood, leaving her to not grow up alone this time around. To add to that, she now has several precious people in her life. So gather around and follow the tale of Konoha's Orange Eyesore. FemNaru! Story, where the Uchiha Massacre doesn't happen. Pairing decided but secret.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Naruto!_

**Warnings: Femnaru! story and Uchiha Massacre doesn't happen. There will be a pairing and it's not with Sasuke. If you don't like, don't read. **

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><p>"<em>Demon!"<em>

"_Catch her!" _

"_Let's finally kill the damn thing!" _

"_We'll be doing this village a favor!" _

The villagers yells of hatred echoed in the crisp, cool night air. The little girl of age five, ran as fast as her short legs could take her. Her short sunny blonde colored hair, which was pulled into twin pigtails, danced wildly with the wind behind her. The cool night air chilled the tears on the girl's whisker-like cheeks. The young girl looked around frantically, searching for a possible escape route. Her eyes locked on an alley. Looking over her shoulder she looked to see if her attackers were directly behind her. They weren't. But she knew they weren't far off. Quickly changing her course, she dashed into the dark alleyway. She ran through the alley, happy to have gotten away. She looked over her shoulder once more, no one was behind her.

_Haha! Suckers! I'm totally outta here! _

She was quickly brought out of her thoughts when she ran smack-dab into something incredibly _hard. _Hissing in pain, she brought her bright blue eyes to see what she crashed into. Her eyes locked with bricks. There, right before her eyes, was a wall. A brick wall to be exact. It's rusty red bricks mocking her for her stupidity.

_Wait...a brick wall. Then that means..._

"No..." She whispered weakly, "This was my only way out."

She sunk down to her knees and lay forehead on the coarse bricks. A fresh new wave a tears spilled out of her eyes. She was done for. She was sure of it.

"_Did you see where she went?" A man asked._

"_No. But she couldn't haven't gotten far." Another responded._

"_Let's check in here." Another added. _

The young girl could hear their footsteps pounding as they neared her. She pulled her knees into her chest, and cried some more. She knew crying was useless. She knew it angered them. She knew it only egged them on...but she couldn't help it. The tears just wouldn't stop falling. She released a ragged breath. A thought crossed her mind...

..._How did I get myself into this mess?_

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><p><strong><em><span>Flashback <span>_**

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><p>It was already eight in the evening, the sun had since set and the world was dark save for the dim light provided by the celestial bodies overhead.<p>

_It's a full moon tonight, _The young girl thought as she stared up to the bright white orb in the sky.

_Isn't that bad luck? Or, was that suppose to mean good luck? ...I'll have to ask Jiji. _

She was abruptly pulled out of her thinking process by a loud growling sound. She soon realized the growling sound to be her stomach. It was as if her stomach was threatening by saying "_You better fill me up soon, unless I'll come for you..." _Even if that wasn't physically possible, she reassured herself for the umpteenth time. The sound of creaking door hinges caught the young girls attention immediately. The door swung open, and in it's wake stood a girl. She looked to be in her early stages of teenagehood. The girl was slim and had a tall stature. Her long brown chocolate colored hair accompanied by her soft brown eyes gave her the aura of a perfect angel. Tied around her hair was a bright white bandanna. Her skin was fair, which only further added to the teen's beauty. Her clothes consisted of a white robe with the sleeves folded, and a sort of dark blue apron with the ribbon ties at the top. It was definitely odd to see a teenager wearing such things. In the teens small left hand was a filled black garbage bag. The garbage bag looked as if it were about to burst from the amount of contents packed within it.

The young girl who sat in the shadows grinned at the bag. _With a bag that stuffed, there's gotta be some food in there! _She thought to herself. As if her stomach agreed with the thought, it let out a giant growl. The young girl's eyes widened in fear as the teenager looked in her direction. The teen's gaze was fixed on her, the young girl hoped the shadows hid her. She knew it was futile, the brown haired teenager knew she was there. But instead of approaching her she instead carried on with her business and tossed the garbage bag into a nearby dumpster. Her eyes flickered back to where she was hiding, but only for a second, and then she walked back into the building shutting the door behind her. The young girl hiding in the shadows waited for a few seconds, just to make sure the teenager wouldn't come back out. When she deemed the coast clear, she emerged from her hiding spot. Beside the dumpster was a crate, to which she was thankful for. She swiftly climbed atop the crate and hopped into the dumpster. But before she could even open up the garbage bag, a soft gasp from behind her was heard. Turning around her eyes met with those warm brown ones, they looked pained. They stayed like that for the longest time, staring into each others eyes. But then she did the oddest thing. She smiled. _Smiled! _It wasn't wicked. It wasn't fake. It was a _real _smile. A full smile that showed off her pearly white teeth.

"You can come out of there. I promise I won't hurt you." Her voice was soft and melodic. The young girl didn't know if she could trust the teenager. _If anything, this older girl could be bad. _But that smile, and those warm brown eyes...those were the things that told her she wasn't bad. So she carefully and slowly made her way out of the dumpster. She stood at a safe distance away from the teen. The teen's smile never faltered, not even for a second.

"What's your name? Mine's Ayame." She introduced herself, sticking out her right hand.

The younger girl stared at her extended hand, debating whether or not she should shake it. _This girl could hurt me. _But once again, she shook off the thought and extended out her own hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto. It's nice to meet'cha." Naruto smiled back. _Maybe...just maybe this person might like me. _

Ayame took in Naruto's features. She was _absolutely _adorable! Her face was slightly chubby, from baby fat. Adorning her cheeks were whisker-like marks. The thing that stood out the most to Ayame, was of course, her hair and her eyes. Her hair was blonde, but it wasn't a dull blonde, not the Yamanakas. It was more of...a sunny blonde, you could say. Her hair definitely rivaled the sun. It was tied up by two orange hair ties. Her hairstyle was pigtails, one on each side of her head. The hair only went a little past her chin. But then her eyes! They were the prettiest color Ayame's ever seen. The color of the blonde's eyes put the sky to shame. The sky probably envied the little girls eye color, Ayame surely did. Ayame couldn't help but smile. This girl was so...innocent. And when she grew older boys from all over would probably beg her to date them.

"Naruto, are you hungry?" Ayame asked, already knowing the answer. When she received a nod of her head, she grabbed her small chubby hand and brought her into the ramen shop.

"Ah, Ayame. Who's your friend?" A kind and jovial voice called. It was slightly deep, it obviously belonged to a man. Naruto's eyes looked to the owner of the voice. He wore a white hat atop of his head. Underneath the white hat was gray hair. He had crinkles near his eyes due to his squinting. He also had crinkles around his mouth, most likely do to a lifetime of smiling.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Ayame introduced. Naruto smiled at the man, and didn't miss the way his shoulders slightly tensed at her name. But he smiled down at her anyways.

"My name is Teuchi." Teuchi introduced himself warmly. Naruto couldn't help but feel..._safe, _with these two people. They were warm, and so nice. And didn't treat her badly in anyway. Or didn't look at her with _those eyes. _

"How would you like some ramen, Naruto?" Teuchi asked. Naruto stared at the man, not knowing what to say. She'd didn't even know what _ramen _was. She'd never had it a day in her life. She was afraid if she didn't answer correctly, they'd make her go away.

"I...uh...I've never had ramen before." Naruto sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of her head. Ayame gasped once more.

"Never?" Ayame asked.

"Never." Naruto confirmed.

"Well, Naruto. Today's your lucky day. Why don't you just take a seat on that stool, right there?" Teuchi said pointing to a red cushioned stool. Naruto made her way over to the stool and tried to get on. Tried being the key word. Naruto was far too short to get on it, much to her embarrassment. Ayame giggled and happily helped the youngster up. When Teuchi delicately set the steaming hot bowl of ramen in front of Naruto, she couldn't help but stare at it. It looked different, but not in a bad way. Naruto wasn't very picky anyways, food was food. Plus it smelt delicious. She looked up to the old man and Ayame.

"Thank you." She said sincerely.

"You're welcome." They chorused together.

She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, hurriedly saying Itadakimasu. She hastily broke apart her chopsticks and plucked up the noodles. Ayame and her father watched as Naruto slowly and experimentally tasted the noodles. As soon as the noodles touched her taste buds, her eyes widened. Hurriedly swallowing, she looked up to Ayame and Teuchi.

"My taste buds are lovin' this!" Naruto jovially shouted, to which to two laughed. Teuchi and Ayame watched in awe as the young girl _literally _scarfed down a _whole _bowl of ramen, in the span of two minutes.

"Would you like some more, Naruto?" Ayame asked.

"Yes!" Naruto instantly replied. Her cheeks then reddened as she forgot her manners, "Please." She added.

Ayame only smiled and handed her empty bowl to her father, who happily refilled it.

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><p><strong><span>Time skip: 30 minutes<span>**

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><p>"Thank you once again. I don't know how to repay you." Naruto sheepishly said.<p>

"Don't worry about it, it was on the house. Just come back sometime, alright Naruto?" Teuchi said.

"Will do!" She promised.

Little did they know, as they watched the young blonde girl walk away, that she'd be their number one customer.

Naruto walked down the street feeling lighthearted. She made two friends, and her tummy was full. She also found a new food she liked, possibly her new favorite food. But good things never lasted for Uzumaki Naruto.

"It's her...the _demon_." A male's gruff voice harshly whispered.

"Oh yeah. Whadda ya know." Another's voice broke in, his voice sounded like broken glass being grinded in a blender.

"How about we teach her a _lesson." _A third voice added. Naruto tried to block out the feeling that she was going to meet her pending doom. She quickly picked up her pace, she didn't know where to go. She didn't have anywhere to go. She could hear their heavy footfalls growing nearer and nearer with every step she took. She quickly picked up her speed, and started running.

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><p><strong><span>End Flashback<span>**

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><p>They had beaten her. Brutally beaten her. Mercilessly. The look of hatred in their eyes was sickening. Their wicked smiles while they kept hitting her was disgusting. Naruto had never before felt so much pain. Oh gosh, the <em>pain. <em>She couldn't even move. She couldn't even lift a finger. All she could do was lie there helplessly, and wait to die. They had left her, in a heaping mess in the alley. And the _blood. _There was so much of it! Either it was plastered on her, or around her. She never knew she had this much blood inside of her. But she did know something. She was going to die from blood loss if she didn't get help. But she couldn't even manage a single sound. Her throat was burning, every breath she took felt like a thousand knives stabbing into her lungs. The worse part was she didn't even know what she did to deserve this. She didn't do anything wrong, and if she did she couldn't remember what she did.

_I...don't wanna to die like this. I-I'm too young to die. If someone can hear me...please...help._

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><p><em><strong>If you're reading this, I'd like to say thank you for reading this. I also would like to mention I did the math on Ayame's age. At the beginning of the story Naruto was 12, and Ayame was 17. So...thus why Ayame is a teenager. If you didn't realise, the italic words are her thoughts. I hope to clear up some confusion in the next chapter. <strong>_

_**Until then! Bye~**_

_**-Sandafairy**_


	2. Chapter 2

Man, I really hate these...like we all know I don't own it. But anywhore, Naruto doesn't belong to me, and none of the characters. All belongs to Kishimoto (obviously) Oh and I almost forgot to add this last chapter: **Warning: Character will tend to be a bit OOC, but I will try my best to make them like there original character. **

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><p>A figure clad in black walks the desolate streets of Konohagakure. Their tall reached the height of 5"11. Obviously male. This male <em>figure <em>was exhausted, to be more precise they were beyond exhausted. They were practically dead to the world. This male _figure _was afraid of falling flat on his face in the middle of the road. They had spent the last month and a half on an ANBU mission. Intent on not wasting any time, they hadn't even took any breaks on there way back to Konoha. They hadn't even bothered to wash of the dried blood on their gray flak jacket. As they trekked down the street they couldn't wait to dive right into their bed and snuggle up under their warm blankets. In that moment _something _abruptly pulled him out of his musings. Well...more of a sound rather than a something. It sounded like a puling infant. Or an injured animal whimpering in distress. The figure looked left, than right. His eyes connected with an eerily dark alleyway. He deemed the noise as a hungry alley cat and was about to continue home once again, if it weren't for that sound. It made him stop and turn back to face the alley. To the normal ear it sounded like a crying cat, begging for food. But to the trained ear...it was something more.

_It's not my problem. _A thought raced through the figure's mind.

_But what if it really is something serious, and whatever it is dies because you didn't help? _Another voice argued.

He was about to turn on his heels until another thought entered his mind. _As a shinobi of Konohagakure it's your duty to protect it. And everything in it, especially it's citizens...what if it's a threat to those citizens? _

He really hated himself sometimes.

Begrudgingly and a bit too sluggishly he made his way into the alley. Instantly upon entering the darkened alleyway, he was revolted by a scent that made him stop. He knew this scent quite well...perhaps too well. Blood. It wasn't just a scant amount either, for he wouldn't falter in his steps if there was a miniscule amount. There had to be a plethoric supply of the velvet substance. This man was absolutely sure of it. He pressed on, his interest slightly piqued. The father he advanced the more sickly he became. The overpowering stench of blood and garbage would make anyone want to vomit. Yet, this male character has been in ANBU for many years. Ever since he was an adolescent young boy to be exact. But there was this odd sense of trepidation that made his stomach twist and turn. He convinced himself it was nothing and picked up his pace a little bit. Then he found it. The source of the blood. He sucked in, hissing through his teeth at the sight. Her. A young girl. The figure stilled as he gazed down at the girl. Judging by how small her frame was she couldn't have been older than six. He'd seen stuff like this before though, being in ANBU you were sometimes assigned to either kill or torture children. The life of a shinobi was a dangerous one. Snapping back to reality, he examined the heap of flesh lying lifelessly on the ground. Her body was twisted in disarray. Strands of hair scattered and struck to her face, due to the blood. And the blood...it was caked everywhere! In every nook and cranny, not missing anything. It clung to her hair, her face, her clothing and just about every inch of the alley. He heaved a sigh. He really didn't want to spend his night cleaning up a dead body. He just really wanted to go to bed. Couldn't he just deal with this tomorrow?

_No...there's too much blood. It'll far too much unwanted attention. Plus if a civilian saw her and told the Hokage, hell might break loose. Just dispose of her now. Then get home and go to sleep. Everybody wins. _

Once again, a sigh escaped his lips. He moved nearer to the limp wasn't how he wanted to spend his night. Couldn't he just catch a break? Just once? Once he was close enough the figure crouched down near the girl, keen on picking her up so he could bring her somewhere and dispose of her. It was in that moment that something dawned on him.

_Her chest...is it...moving? But she's dead...isn't she? _

He stared at her chest, trying to determine if she was alive or not. Sure enough her chest was indeed rising and falling. Rather slowly he might add, but still rising and falling. He brought his head closer to her. Now listening more intently, he could clearly hear her ragged intakes of breaths. His head instantly shot back up. She couldn't be alive! There was no way! She had to be dead...right?

_But she's breathing! Dead things don't breathe. Perhaps it's just my mind playing tricks on me...I am pretty much sleep deprived after all. _

Allowing himself to that was the plausible answer, he decided upon one more test. He lifted his right pointed and middle fingers, delicately placing the upon her neck. Sure enough there was a pulse, albeit a bit faint. Too faint for his liking. Now he was absolutely positive his head wasn't messing with him, she was in fact very much alive. Well...alive for now. His arms moved out, about to scoop her up into them once again, keen on taking her to the hospital before she _did _die. It was in that moment that something else caught his eye. Her hair. Now, thinking about someone.s hair in a time or situation like this was asinine...but he just couldn't look away. Even though it was matted with blood, giving it a coppery-brown color, he could see the faintest hue of her real hair color. It was blonde. But not just any type of blonde, a blonde he knew _too _well. It was a color that was engraved into his heart and head. It was a ultra rare hair color he'd only seen once in his life. The reality of it struck down on him like lightning, shocking him to the core.

Two words escaped his mouth at that very moment. "M-Minato-sensei?"

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><p><strong>~xXx~<strong>

**~Flash back: 5 Years Ago~ **

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><p>A teenager with storm cloud gray hair stood before a pair of massive wooden doors. He stood in front of these doors countless times, he'd walked through them even more. It wasn't that he was afraid of doors, that would be an illogical fear. He was more of less intimidated by what was behind these doors.<p>

He warily brought his hand up to the door, then panicked slightly.

_A shinobi must always be level-headed. A moment of hesitation could get them killed. Inhale...exhale...inhale...exhale..._

After his breathing exercises he lightly rapped his knuckles against the smoothly polished wooden doors. Not a second later a soft, "Come in," was heard. He rose both of his hands, pushing them lightly against the doors successfully opening them. Upon entering the room his nostrils were assaulted by the scent of freshly opened ink and another odor, which he distinctly knew to be the crisp fragrance of papers perfuming the air, and it automatically drew his face into a scowl. The teen strode in long confident strides and wiped the scowl from his face, no matter how much the smells irked him. He then stood before a large wooden desk. Papers were strewn upon it in clutters. It was a mystery how the man behind the desk knew which paper needed signing and which didn't. Realigning his gaze so it wasn't on the papers he looked up towards the man behind the desk. He was in his late twenties, early thirties and had unruly blonde hair. He held up a pointer finger signaling for the teen to wait a moment, not even bothering to look up from the document he was in the middle of signing. He listened intently to the scratching of the brush on the paper, the brush no doubt needed more ink. But that was besides the point. When the man was finished signing the document he set his brush down and sighed happily, glad that he was done with that. He then looked up, a grand smile _smothering _his face when his eyes connected with the silver haired teen.

"Kakashi, long time no see." He laughed jovially.

"It's nice to see you again Minato-sens-I mean Hokage-sama." Kakashi corrected himself, bowing before the man slightly embarrassed that he had almost finished addressing him incorrectly.

Minato frowned slightly. "Address me as you always have."

"Of course." Kakashi replied.

Minato's face then grew serious, which in return scared Kakashi slightly. He hasn't seen his teacher this serious since the Third Shinobi World War.

The blonde then pointed to the cushioned seat in front of his desk, "Take a seat. What I am about to speak to you about must not leave this room."

Following his instructions, Kakashi planted himself in the overly padded chair that rest in front of the desk. Minato the stood abruptly, making his way over to the wall. Kakashi's lone eye followed his mentor as he held a hand and brushed it against the wall, making the room erupt in a blue flash before everything went back to normal.

_A barrier seal? _Kakashi wondered. Minato had put up a barrier seal so no one could listen in, not even his personal guards. Panic tightened around Kakashi's heart, he had a bad feeling. Kakashi didn't like this, not one bit. Something seemed...off. What could Kakashi hear that Minato's own _personal, three handpicked out of thousands of men guards_ couldn't hear?

_Is it just my imagination? _He inwardly asked. After putting some thought into it, he concluded it probably was just his imagination. Whatever Minato had to say, it was of the utmost importance. That much was glaringly obvious. And that alone put the teen a bit more on edge. Once Minato was finished deeming the barrier seal soundproof, he returned to his throne...also known as the Hokage's chair. Once situated...well as situated as he could possibly get because he kept fidgeting, he interlocked his hands together lightly placing them upon his desk to keep them from fidgeting as well. He then cleared his throat making Kakashi jump slightly.

"As you know, Kushina is due next month." Minato said, a small smile adorning his face. Kakashi rose a silver brow in question. What did that have to do with him? Did he want him to babysit or something?

"Congratulations sir, have you both finally agreed on a name yet?" Kakashi inquired.

Minato's eyes seemed to brighten instantly, as did his smile. "Yes! Kushina finally agreed after months of antagonizing, I mean _persuading. _Her name's going to be Naruto." Minato stated proudly.

Kakashi cast him a dry glance. Of all the names his teacher could come up with...he came up with a ramen topping? There was a certain point of being obsessed and overly obsessed with something. This was definitely crossing the line of overly obsessed.

"Don't you think that name is somewhat ridiculous? I mean...it's a ramen topping sensei. Plus, even if it was a name, it sounds more like a boy's name. She'll probably get picked on by other kids." Kakashi pointed out.

Minato simply raised a single hand in the air and swatted it back and forth, as if trying to his an imaginary fly out of his face. "Nonsense! You're starting to sound like Kushina! Besides, I named her after the main character in Master Jiraiya's novel."

"You named your daughter after a character in a erotic novel?" Kakashi asked, somewhat incredulous.

Minato's face went aflame at the teen's comment. "Of course I didn't! I thought you'd put more faith into your teacher," Minato dramatically put a hand over his heart, feigning hurt. "It's from the lesser known series. Naruto: The Legend of the gutsy Ninja. I assure, there are no adult scenes in there." Minato finished, his blush starting to die down.

As the room went uncomfortably silent Kakashi took it upon himself to speak up once more. "So what is it you called me in here for?"

Minato's smile seemed to wash away as a frown started to etch itself onto his face.

Kakashi suddenly froze, and sat there stiff as a board. The sudden change in Minato was very uncharacteristic. Minato was usually so upbeat and happy, so seeing so melancholic was mildly disturbing. A shiver passed down the teen's back, and the hair on his neck stood up as another wave of foreboding swept over him. Dismal thoughts clung to him like parasites, along with the dread that seemed to take over every fiber in Kakashi's body.

Minato's eyes clouded like murky water as he looked towards the teen, a sad smile flit across his face. "I have many enemies as you know Kakashi..." With every word out of the blonde's mouth, Kakashi's stomach seemed to jumble up more. Minato's tongue felt like lead as he chose his next words carefully. "And the chance of me being assassinated is very high. As is Kushina's. With that being said...I'd like to ask you a favor. If both Kushina and I are to die, I want you to look after our child."

The words punch him. There was a terrible screech as Kakashi stood abruptly from the chair, pushing it back a couple feet. "What do you mean _die!_" Kakashi angrily asked, shouting. His stomach curled at the thought. "You can't die Minato-sensei! You just can't!" Kakashi screamed like a child having a tantrum as his hands curled into fists and he started pounding on the desk, making Minato flinch slightly. "Obito...Rin...now you!" Kakashi screamed more, as tears of anger and pure regret started unconsciously falling out of his unclothed eye. "You...can't...leave...me...all alone." He whispered more to himself then his teacher. In that moment his voice seemed so broken and helpless, making Minato's heart clench.

Kakashi's chest was heaving by the end of his tirade. Minato silently sat in his chair, to say he was shocked was an didn't think that was the reaction he'd get out of him. Minato quickly schooled his features as Kakashi hurriedly wiped tears away with the back of his hand. His expression was still resentful mixed in with downright fury. Kakashi stared intently at his teacher for a few seconds before his expression did a total 180 and a shaky laugh escaped his lips.

"Good one Minato-sensei! You really had me there." He laughed a bit more, even though Minato knew he was trying to convince himself of that blatant lie. Perhaps he had said it trying to lighten the uncomfortably depressing mood? Minato wasn't sure, though he was leaning more towards the latter.

"Kakashi." Minato called out, trying to bring his focus back to the task at hand.

Dread thrummed through Kakashi's veins when he finally realized his sensei's words weren't fake. Nor a joke.

"You're serious, Minato-sensei!" Kakashi said, beyond shocked.

The blonde man nodded, pressing his lips together firmly.

"Are you stupid Minato-sensei? Has Kushina hit your head so hard that you lost your intelligence?" Kakashi unconsciously hissed out. Not for a second did he regret the words that were falling freely from his lips.

Minato let out a shaky laugh before responding, "Perhaps."

Kakashi took his seat once more in the front of the man. "I'm only thirteen, Minato-sensei. Why leave a baby in my hands?" He asked.

"I don't trust anyone else as much as I trust you." Minato simply shrugged, speaking with the most sincerity and honesty in his voice.

In any other circumstance Kakashi would have loved to hear those words, but not now.

"But I'm in ANBU. I'd have no time to take care of a child. Besides, I have no clue how to take care of a child." He added with an afterthought of, _I can barely take care of myself. _

"Kakashi, you're my last resort. I don't want to burden you, but I also don't want my child to grow up all this is _if_ something happens to Kushina and I. It's not like it's going to happen. It's just a precaution in case it _does _happen." Minato spoke.

"What about Sandaime-sama?" Kakashi offered, thinking of the elderly man who has _just _resigned months before to let his sensei step up and take the new title of Hokage.

"Kakashi...do you really think a man in his sixties could take care of an infant? You're better off doing it." Minato urged.

Kakashi started to weigh the pros and cons. There were far more cons than pros. But then again, his sensei had pulled Kakashi's ass out of the fire innumerable times, he felt obligated to return the favor. And looking out for the girl was the only way he knew how to fulfill that obligation.

Kakashi took one look at Minato's stone-set face and knew there was no making him budge. There was no persuading him when he was this committed to a decision. He could trust his judgement though.

He heaved a long sigh, bringing his right thumb and index fingers up to the bridge of his nose, allowing them to pinch there slightly. He was starting to get a headache. He knew he was probably going to regret this, but on the other hand he was positive nothing would happen to his teacher. He was the strongest person he knew. Nothing could stop him. Right?

"I promise."

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><p><strong>~xXx~<strong>

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><p><strong>(This is just an add on. It has nothing to due with the original storyline. It is just for our enjoyment, and will not be in every chapter. And more likely than not...it'll be crackfic-ish material. So...enjoy~) <strong>

"Oh, and I know you promised already not to tell anyone...but make sure you definitely don't tell Kushina, please." Minato begged his student.

He raised an eyebrow. "You haven't told her of this...arrangement?"

"No...so not a peep out of you or she'll have my head." He nervously chuckled.

"I think she'll have more than your head sensei, but I promise." Kakashi assured the blonde man.

It was in that moment that Kakashi's sadistic side seemed kick in, thoughts of how to torment his sensei flooding his brain. "So what are you going to do once she starts taking an interest in boys?" Kakashi pondered aloud, trying to hide his devilish smirk as his sensei's face became murderous.

"Nobody will ever have my sweet, innocent buttercup." Minato answered venomously, an eerie smile adorning his lips. Kakashi shivered slightly.

"Is that so? How will she pass down 'The Will Of Fire' then? Don't you want grandchildren?" Kakashi interrogated.

"Of course I want grandkids! But she can always adopt." Minato countered.

Kakashi nearly running out of things to say that would tick off his sensei more, quickly thinking on his feet he came up with more material he could use. "So...doesn't Kushina's friend, the one married to the Uchiha Clan Head, have a child?" Kakashi inquired, hoping to push the blonde man's buttons further.

"Mikoto? Yes, she had her second son a couple months ago. I think he's now...two months old now?" Minato paused and stared off into the distance, seemingly doing the math in his head to determine how old the little tater tot was. "Yes, two months old. And she also named him after Hiruzen's father, his name is Sasuke. But what does this have to do with anything?" Minato asked, scratching his head in thought. Kakashi tried to hide his growing smirk, but he was failing miserably.

"Well...Kushina's close to Mikoto. And Mikoto has a son...and Kushina and you are having a daughter. So, what if they got close and fell in love?" Kakashi asked, loving how his genius plan was working perfectly. His sensei was far too gullible and easy to coax. It was one of the very little innocent things Kakashi had ever seen. It was almost cute...almost.

Minato's eyes widened as a deep, dark aura took over him and just about the whole office. "I will _not_ allow my baby girl to fall in love with a _Uchiha! _He'll never be good enough for her! She deserves to be treated like the princess she is! And if he dares to lay on finger on her, I will shove my Rasengan so far up his ass!"

Kakashi's visible eye widened. He prayed for the poor girl.

* * *

><p><strong>~Later on that day~<strong>

* * *

><p>Minato walked briskly through the Uchiha Clan, enjoying the bright sun beating down on his skin that warmed his entire being, the nice cool breeze that blew away strands of his unkempt hair and listening to the boisterous sounds of laughter coming from the young children. Minato was on his way to the Clan Head's house to pick up Kushina. She was discussing baby things with Mikoto. He was pulled out of his musings when he saw a door before him. He raised a hand towards it, knocking evenly three times. The door then soon opened to reveal a five year old boy with dark onyx eyes and charcoal hair, much like the rest of the clan. He was basically a miniature Fugaku. Only differences were he didn't have the lines that dominated his father's face, which were due to frowning. Another thing Minato noticed was his eyelashes were long, they really made his eyes stick out. And last but not least, he wore a shirt with an overly large collar. Fugaku tended to wear robes when he wasn't on duty, unlike the rest of the clan who had a weird fashion taste for overly large collars. They reminded Minato of the ones dogs were forced to wear from the vets, the ones that prevented the dogs from biting themselves. This boy was Fugaku's and Mikoto's first son, Itachi. The only child Minato knew that almost never smiled or laughed. Itachi stepped out of the doorway, silently invited the blonde Hokage inside. Once inside he kicked off his shinobi sandals, and turned to see a man holding a deep frown that almost seemed permanent. Fugaku. His rival.<p>

"Fugaku." Minato said in greeting, voice even and level.

"Minato." He replied, his voice as monotone as ever.

"I'm here to pick up Kushina." He happily announced, smiling at his beautiful wife's name.

"Obviously." Fugaku silently muttered, just loud enough for the Hokage to hear.

Minato's left eyebrow ticked slightly, but he held his anger in. Unlike his wife, he had a great deal of self control. Even if he did have self control, Fugaku could always get easily under his skin. It didn't matter if he held the title Hokage or not, Fugaku always treated him the same as always; a rival. It was something Minato was grateful for, although he'd never admit it to that pompous Uchiha.

Fugaku and Minato had been rivals since the first day of the Academy. But that's a story for another time. Fugaku led the Fourth Hokage through the hallway, then entered a room on the left. The room was a dark blue and had small Uchiha Clan's Crests painted all around it. Minato could only roll his eyes. How much more arrogant and egotistical could you get? In the corner of the room Mikoto, along with Minato's angel, Kushina. In Mikoto's hands was her two month old son, Sasuke. He had the same looks as the rest of his clan, yet his raven hair was mussed around him in disarray, sticking out at different angles. It made Minato want to laugh, but he was in the same boat as the child. Kushina's laughter brought his gaze to her. She had put her pointer finger to curl it around a stand of Sasuke's hair, but he had other plans. The infant instead curled his tiny fingers around it, and gently moved it all around as if it were some toy cooing all the while. It would've been a heartfelt moment if Kakashi's words wouldn't have rung through his head at that exact moment.

"_Well...Kushina's close to Mikoto. And Mikoto has a son...and Kushina and you are having a daughter. So, what if they got close and fell in love?" _

Minato's oceanic eyes fell towards his wife's enlarged tummy, then he shifted his eyes to glare at the bundle of joy in the Uchiha matriarch's arms.

Noticing his icy glare that could freeze hell over, Fugaku (who still stood right next to him) cleared his throat, "Is something wrong?" He asked, a bit of a threat underlining his tone.

Minato's overprotective daddy senses kicked into overdrive.

"Yeah, there is! Your son isn't allowed near my precious little daughter!" Minato raged, surprising everyone present. All eyes were on him, making his cheeks take on a light pink hue. He could feel the atmosphere turn thick, and he could feel the ferocious glare that was his wife.

"And why not? What's wrong with my son?" Fugaku asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"He's not good enough for my baby girl! She's going to adopt children! No boy will ever have her, not even your son!" Minato retorted still shouting, and stuck an accusing finger at Sasuke, who had started crying due to all the yelling.

Kushina's feet pounded against the floorboards as she stomped her way over. Minato turned to her, only to see her murderous expression that would make any grown man want to pee his pants. His cheeks paled. She raised her hand and-

_SMACK!_

Minato dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, out cold.

Kushina scratched her neck in embarrassment for her and Minato, as Mikoto finally calmed down her son.

"Sorry about that, he must've ate some bad ramen or something. Don't take any of it seriously. I can't wait for little Sasuke and Naruto to play together. I bet they'll get along just fine." She smiled, patting her tummy.

Mikoto returned the smile. "Of course. I can't wait. Well, you better get him to bed," Mikoto pointed to the unconscious man at Kushina's feet, "Come back anytime."

"Will do!" She waved goodbye with a broad smile, dragging the unconscious Hokage to their house by his feet.

* * *

><p>Whew! My longest chapter yet. That's like 2 chapters into one, you're welcome. So after half a year I finally updated...impressive I know! Well anywhore, I hope you enjoyed and I promise I'll try to update at a more faster rate. Have an awesome day, and stay beautiful~<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Kakashi watched as the shiny glass electric doors slid wide opened before him, courteously inviting him inside. He briskly walked in, pushing pass a group of female medics who were making idle chit-chat about nothing in general, most likely a coworker they despised or a guy who they thought were cute, the average female gossip. A long line was placed before the administration desk, from what Kakashi could make out, they all appeared to be shinobi. Minor most severe thing he could make out was a broken left arm. But the bone could be easily mended back together with a medical jutsu.

Kakashi cleared his throat so loudly it hurt. All eyes shifted over to him, and once they rested upon him their eyes widened comically. If it were a different situation Kakashi would've laughed. All eyes shifted downwards as grim looks adorned their faces. For in his arms was broken, beaten, bruised bloody mess of a young child. All patients stepped aside, their injuries minuscule in comparison to the young girl. He took long strides up to the administration desk. The woman behind the desk didn't even bother to look up, too engrossed with flipping through a thick stack of documented papers. Kakashi quickly took in her profile. The woman had chocolate brown hair mussed into a sloppy bun, strands of hair scattered in several different places making it look somewhat like a lion's mane. She also had dark rings beneath her eyes that could easily rival L Lawliet. Kakashi thought it to be due to pulling an extra shift, due to a coworker calling in sick or something of the sort. And another thing Kakashi noticed were her extremely low chakra reserves which made it was beyond obvious she wasn't a shinobi, merely a civilian.

Having deemed his inspection thoroughly acceptable, he finally spoke up, "Excuse me."

The frazzled woman lethargically looked up. Her eyes first connected with the girl, I mean how can you not she _was_ quite the eyesore and stuck out like a sore thumb that had been smashed several, _several _times with a sledgehammer.

Her eyes shifted to Kakashi's masked eye slits, terror obviously written her eyes.

"I need a room, now." Kakashi's smooth, even voice demanded. Despite the type of predicament he was in.

The woman bobbed her head up and down at an erratic pace, "R-Right a-away ANBU-san!" She shakily said. With wobbly hands she hurriedly flipped through papers, then her eyes connected with the eye slits in his dog-like ANBU mask. "Room 213. D-Do you n-need assistance o-on finding it?"

"No, thank you." He courteously replied tipping his head in silent thanks, then proceeded to turn on his heel and make his exit, all eyes adjusted on his back as he walked away.

**~XxX~**

_Room 210...211...212...Room 213! Here it is, finally! _Kakashi inwardly cheered.

He pushed open the door, finding a medic-nin standing next to the bed with a needle in her right hand. She wore a bored expression, her brown eyes gazing lazily at the young girl.

"Lay her there." She said in a languid tone of voice while pointing towards the pearly white sheeted hospital bed.

Kakashi did as the medic instructed, lying her down as gently as possible. The medic-nin looked at him a bit skeptically, it was as if he were afraid he'd break her, like she was some priceless heirloom vase. How ludicrous.

"What's the needle for?" Kakashi asked a bit apprehensively as he pointed to said object.

The medic-nin merely rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. "Do you know what blood type she is?"

"No." Kakashi said a bit sheepish. But then again, the little girl _was _a complete stranger so how was he suppose to know.

"As I predicted." She stated with a tone that had a very small underlining of pride. "By the looks of it, you have no idea who this child is," Her bored voice stated, her chocolate eyes boring into his, "Yet you have a good hypothesis as to who she really is."

Kakashi stared at the medic, completely caught off guard.

Kakashi didn't like being caught off guard, it was never good for a shinobi. Being caught off guard could kill you in an instant. A lot of things in the shinobi world could kill you, it seemed. How in the world could she know such things?

As if to answer his question she spoke up once more, "By the way you put her down, and the way you're still here I assume you have a certain attachment to this child. Any other ANBU agent would have left already." Her analytical eyes shifted back towards him, waiting for his conformation. He nodded stiffly. She read him like a book, even though she couldn't see his facial expressions.

_That's a pretty impressive feat, especially for a medic. Unless..._

How could he have been so stupid? Kakashi wanted slap himself in the face. The answer was beyond obvious! The impact was so hard it was like somebody chucked a brick right in his face.

"Nara." That simple word made a lazy smirk rise to her lips.

She merely nodded her head in conformation, "Nara Shikakura. Took you long enough, I thought you were suppose to be a prodigy, Hatake-san."

_How did she? Oh yeah, that's right...Nara. Plus my hair is a dead giveaway... And I am pretty well known in ANBU..._

Her eyes shifted back to the child. "Enough talking already, she has about 10 minutes to live if I don't get her blood."

As the Nara moved closer to the young girl, Kakashi couldn't help but tense up slightly. He knew the medic wouldn't harm her in any way, but he couldn't help it.

As the needle pierced her skin Kakashi's eyes followed the blood as it filled up the needle's container.

Once she was done, she cleaned the small area up a bit and applied a band-aid on her arm.

The Nara looked towards the needle, then the silver-haired man. "I'll be right back."

Kakashi nodded, watching as she exited the room, her heels clicking down the hall in a rhythmic pace.

He then settled himself in a hard plastic chair, right beside the young child's bed. He couldn't help but think of how uncomfortable the chair made his keister feel. The hospital really needed to upgrade their chairs.

Deciding to move his attention back to the girl who rested before him, and not his buttocks, he intently gazed at her.

Under the brighter lighting of the hospital, he could see how gaunt she really looked. She looked a bit too thin. It looked like she hadn't eaten in a while. She wasn't thin enough to be at the point of malnutrition, or a sack of bones, but she was slowly on her way. How could this have happened?

"Who are you?" He whispered quietly to the unconscious girl. It wasn't like he was expecting an answer in return. Although an answer would be nice. But alas, it was too good to be true.

The only answer he got in return was silence. Awkward, deafening, make-you-go-insane silence. That was until the door swung wide open nearly slamming against the wall, revealing the female Nara medic. She was wheeling in an IV Drip Stand. Attached to it on one of the metal hooks was a once clear bag now filled with a liquid of red. Obviously blood.

Shikakura gently tore off the band-aid from the girl's arm and applied the drip chamber (the pointy needle-like part) back into her arm, Kakashi turned his attention back to the bag to get a closer look.

"Blood type B." Shikakura answered, scaring Kakashi a bit with how it was like she could read his mind.

It went dead silent after that. But it only lasted for a few seconds score Kakashi spoke up, "Will she regress?"

Shikakura stared down towards the unconscious child who lay in the bed for a few moments before answering truthfully, "That depends." Shikakura sighed before continuing, "Physically yes. But...mentally I don't think she'll ever be the same. But only time will really tell."

Kakashi had feared that answer.

"Now Kakashi, I'd like to ask you to wait in the hall, I have to clean her and have her changed." She asked politely.

Kakashi nodded. Stood from his chair and made his exit out into the hallway, where conveniently two more plastic chairs were placed against the wall. Once again, making his butt extremely stiff.

Kakashi's thoughts didn't linger too long on the chairs and how wickedly uncomfortable they were. They instead drifted towards the small child in the room 213.

_There's no way she could be related to him...could she?_ He sighed verbally. This was all so frustrating! Who the hell was this kid! Wasn't there just one person that could tell him! But what person in this village could know everyone?

Kakashi pondered this for a few moments before the answer hit him once more, making him want to smack himself once again for being so stupid. He blamed his stupidity on lack of sleep. Kakashi rotated his head and looked left, then right. Not a soul was alive in the void hallway, it was left completely dead.

His hands rose to his ANBU mask, where he gently unclasped it. As soon as the mask left his face cold air seemed to rush over and cling to Kakashi's face. He looked around once more, just in case. He didn't wear his well-known cloth mask under his ANBU mask, it got in the way and was very irritating. So his face was left vulnerable, making him feel extremely naked.

Leaving his own personal problems aside, Kakashi performed perfectly practiced hand seals. It came to him easily, he used this jutsu so often he could probably do it in his sleep. After finishing the last hand seal Kakashi slammed his right palm into the tiled hospital floors. In a plume of smoke a small brown pug appeared.

"Hey! What's the meaning of this? I was in the middle of eating!" His ninja hound berated his master, wiping away some crumbs from his face.

Kakashi gazed down at the pug in front of him with a dry, stern look.

Pakkun instantly sat up a bit more straighter. By the looks of it his master was in no playful mood, whatever happened it seemed quite important...that much was obvious.

"Kakashi, what's wrong? What happen-" He started before getting interrupted.

"Pakkun, I'll explain later. I have an important mission for you." Kakashi cut the pup off. The dog nodded, awaiting his masters instructions.

"I need you to report to Hiruzen right away. I need you to tell him of my current location, and for him to come meet me here immediately. Do _not_ take no for an answer." Kakashi ordered. The authority was prominent in his words, yet there was an underlining of something else hidden in them. Pakkun couldn't put his paw on it, but he knew something was troubling his master. Pakkun looked at his master with curious eyes. Kakashi wasn't the same as he always was. Pakkun was use to his lazy, languid-voiced friend who was his master. Not this serious-looking stern man. Another small detail also seemed to catch Pakkun's attention. He hadn't referred to the Hokage as _Hokage-sama_ as he normally did, but instead chose to call him by his name…._Hiruzen._Such a thing wasn't the way Kakashi went about things. Something _seriously_ bad must've happened. But as a loyal dog should, Pakkun didn't question any further and nodded, accepting his mission.

Pakkun was about halfway towards the nearest window before Kakashi called out to him, "Don't keep me waiting Pakkun, time is of the essence." Kakashi said sternly, waving off his ninja pup.

Pakkun looked back to him, nodded his head and dashed off full speed toward the Hokage Tower to deliver the urgent message.

**~XxX~**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, AKA Third Hokage. Feared throughout all the lands, no matter how old he was. Most wouldn't dare to tussle with this Sarutobi, most likely due to his famous nickname, God of Shinobi. But at this very moment he was having an extremely intense stare down with his strongest foe...Paperwork!

"Hokage-sama! Here are more documents for you to check." Hiruzen's secretary appeared carrying a humongous pile of paperwork. When Hiruzen looked up, all he could see was her brown hair that was pulled into a perfectly neat tight bun, the rest of her was obscured from his view due to the never ending pile of papers.

Hiruzen groaned. He hated paperwork. Every time he finished a pile, it was always replaced with another one that seemed even bigger than the last one. Paperwork was the bane of his existence, it would surely be the death of him. He was sure of it.

"What would be contained in the documents this glorious day?" Hiruzen asked in a sarcastic tone.

His secretary gave him an apologetic smile, then exited his office. Her high heels making a rhythmic clacking as she walked back to her desk down the hall.

The elderly Hokage released a long, exasperated sigh. He grabbed the first piece of paper from the humongous pile and starting reading it. He couldn't help but give the evil eye to his newly aquatinted _friend__s _in the corner of his desk. As Hiruzen signed documents he couldn't help but grumble. Couldn't he just have one normal, nice night all to himself? Perhaps go out to dinner. Go to the onsen, or even read a perverted novel written by his even more perverted student. Was that so much to ask?

_I hate to admit it...but I__'__m getting too old got this. I was suppose to retire five years ago__…__Why did I ever come back?_

The answer made Hiruzen's document signing cease. The answer was simple. Minato. Minato Namikaze. The Fourth Hokage, known more by his own legendary nickname The Yellow Flash, which he earned during The Third Great Shinobi World War.

Hiruzen stared off into the distance, staring at the sculpted face of Minato that was carved into the mountain. Hiruzen could remember back to simpler times back to when Minato was a around the age of being a Genin, all those years ago. What was years only felt like hours.

**~Flashback~**

Hiruzen looked towards the class of to-be-Genins. From his calculations the class was mostly made up of males, the female students were clearly outnumbered. Eighteen male students were situated on the right side of the classroom, shifting nervously in the wooden pews. While on the left side of the room sat nine females in total. Most of the soon-to-be Kunoichi were all chatting, all except for one. She sat there in the wooden seat, furiously doodling on a piece of paper. She would release an aggravated diminutive puff of air every few seconds as a single stray strand of vermillion crimson hair would escape from behind her ear and fall into her face, obscuring her vision and bothering her drawing session. Hiruzen lips quirked into a tiny smirk. He found it amusing that she was so fixated on the piece of paper in front of her. She paid no mind to the very, _very _important man who stood before them all, just like the other females. The other eight females had their backs towards the Hokage, instead of drawing though they were instead huddled together in a small circle chatting in high pitched voices, and giggling at even higher pitches Hiruzen didn't think was possible, it was remarkable they didn't break windows. Their pitches were so irritating it made you want to cut your ears off. The Chūnin instructor cleared his throat, earning all nine of the females attention. The redhead looked up to the Hokage nervously, not knowing what to do. Not thinking, she instantly stood up, raising her right hand to her forehead in salute while words spewed out of her mouth, "Good morning Hokage-sama!"

The whole class erupted in laughter, all except two. The Hokage and a blonde haired boy. The girl's face went as red as her hair. She stared down in embarrassment, her hands fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. It wasn't her fault! Sometimes words just jumped out of her mouth!

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _She mentally screamed to herself.

She was pulled out of her self-loathing session by a hand gently resting on her head. When she looked up she saw the _very _power village leader, beaming down at her. The color of her face lit up even more, if that was even possible. She felt like her skin was going to burn off of her in that very moment.

_He must think I__'__m an idiot__…_ The girl inwardly sighed, eyes still locked with the Hokage's.

"Good morning Kushina. How are you doing?" Hiruzen asked, reigning the class into silence.

"G-Good H-Hokage-sama!" Kushina loudly replied, further embarrassing herself more.

"I'm glad. It's not easy moving to a new village. Restarting in a unfamiliar place, it must be hard on you. I hope your classmates will be nice enough to help you become acquainted." Hiurzen jovially replied, an underlining in his words that were intended for Kushina's classmates. With Hiruzen's final words he moved back to his spot at the front of the class, a small almost invisible smirk playing on the corner of his mouth.

A brunette haired female raised her hand, to which Hiruzen said, "Yes?"

"So um, like, why are you here exactly Hokage-sama?" The girl asked, trying to keep the boredom out of her tone.

"Good question. But how about I answer your question with one of my own." Hiruzen smirk formed into a broad smile as the students gave him odd looks, most likely wondering if he was senile, even though he was only forty-one at the time.

"Who would like to take the title of Hokage when they get older?" Hiruzen asked.

Several hands shot towards the sky.

_Interesting__… _Hiruzen thought, surveying the many children who had rose their hands. Most of them appeared to be males. What really surprised him was Kushina had her hand raised, her eyes shining brightly with confidence. Hiruzen couldn't help but think she was…different. But in a good way. It was different for a female to want to be a Hokage, plus Kushina was from another village which made it peculiar for her to want to be the leader of a village she wasn't entirely accustomed to.

"What are your reasons for wanting to become Hokage?" Hiruzen asked, pointing to the first boy who had his hand risen.

"To get the ladies of course!" He imprudently shouted, flashing all the females in the room a lopsided grin. All the females gave him a deadpanned expression while a few made comments such as, "You wish!" or "Never gonna happen, loser!"

Hiruzen inwardly sighed and shook his head in slight shame for the poor boy. He then pointed to the next child.

"To become famous!"

"To boss around people! Take no one's orders!"

"To have everything I want! And more!"

"Have villagers give me free stuff!"

"To be named 'The Strongest Shinobi' and be feared throughout all the lands!"

It was until Hiruzen had almost given up his faith in these kids and pointed to the last male student. A young boy who was fairly tall for his age, fair-skinned with bright blue eyes and unkempt blonde hair. His hair reminded Hiruzen of his own student, Jiraiya. The young lad had jaw length bangs on both sides that perfectly framed his face. And just like Jiraiya, he too had untamable hair that stuck out at every only difference being the hair color, Jiraiya's being a snowy white while this boy's hair was a sunshine yellow. He stood abruptly from his seat, putting a closed right fist flat against the area where his heart was.

"I want to become Hokage one day because I want the villagers to acknowledge me!" He confidently declared, shutting his eyes and flashing Hiruzen a broad toothy smile.

Hiruzen's faith rekindled. This child interested him. "What's your name?"

"Minato Namikaze, sir." Minato replied.

"Minato…hmmm…" Hiruzen said, trying out the youngster's name.

Kushina looked from the Hokage back to Minato, then back to Hiruzen, then back again to Minato. Her eyes narrowed.

_How can somebody who looks so unreliable and__…__.girly become a Hokage! _Kushina inwardly asked herself, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring loathsomely at the blonde. Even though Kushina hadn't been in the village long didn't mean she hadn't heard the rumors that clung to the blonde. By the way all the girls in the class talked about him it was like he was some sort of God. They called him a _prodigy._ A _rare genius _that appeared only once in a generation. Someone who looked like him couldn't be that talented, could he?

_That__'__s an impossible dream! He__'__ll never become Hokage! _Kushina glared harder, hoping he'd notice. Although the dense blonde didn't so much as glance in the temperamental crimson haired female direction another figure did, Hiruzen. He looked back and forth from the fiery redhead to the blonde, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. He just _knew _something in the near-distant future was bound to happen between them.

**~Flashback Over~**

The irksome sound of scratching pulled the elderly Hokage out of his reverie. Hiruzen looked up towards the wooden doors, a raised graying eyebrow delicately raised in question.

"Come in?" He questioned rather than told. But instead of someone, or something, walking in the scraping noise continued. Hiruzen sighed, put the document he was a quarter of the way through signing down on his desk and stood from his chair. He trekked over to the door, swinging it open only to see….nothing? Hiruzen looked left, than right only too see an empty hallway.

_Odd__…_ Hiruzen inwardly thought. He was just about to shut the door until a deep, gruff voice shouted, "Hey!" The shout came from…below? Hiruzen looked down, only to see a miniature chocolate brown pug that sat on it's haunches. The pug bore a hitai-ate, signaling it to be a ninken.

"Come in?" Hiruzen offered once more. The mocha colored pug happily accepted, trotting inside and jumping up onto one of plush chairs. Hiruzen too made his way back to his seat and sat, hands interlocked underneath his chin.

Hiruzen stared at the pug smirking, "You really couldn't just open to door yourself, Pakkun?"

"Of course I can!" Pakkun retorted, manly pug pride damaged.

"You do realize you're suppose to push those doors open inward, don't you?" Hiruzen asked again, enjoying pushing the small pug's buttons.

He huffed. "For the record, I knew that. And I could've opened the doors but-"

"Then why didn't you?" Hiruzen asked.

Pakkun stared at the elderly man, choosing to completely ignore his interrogating question and continued on with his vital message, "I have an urgent message to report, Hokage-sama. Kakashi is at the Hospital, room 213 and he requests your presence right away."

Hiruzen's playful manner washed away as a serious expression claimed his face. "Thank you, Pakkun. I'll be taking my leave right now to meet with Kakashi."

Pakkun nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

One thought seeded itself in Hiruzen's mind as he looked back to his desk where the mountain sized stack of papers rested.

_What crummy timing__…_

**~XxX~**

Kakashi watched as the illustrious Hokage entered the Hospital's lobby. Villagers were thunderstruck to unexpectedly see their village leader make an unannounced visit to the Hospital. But their shock quickly faded away as they bowed before him, stepping aside to provide the Hokage with a clear path for him to walk, to which Hiruzen would tip his head and softly thank them. When the Third Hokage approached Kakashi, who had put his mask back on but it was obviously him, Hiruzen smiled wide. "Hello Dog-san. I was told to come here by a certain ninken. Did you hurt yourself? Or did you just not clean yourself up?" Hiruzen asked in a joking tone.

It was too bad for the Sarutobi that Kakashi wasn't in a joking mood. Instead of answering him Kakashi tipped his head to the right side, signaling for the aging man to follow him. Hiruzen complied, but couldn't help but find Kakashi's behavior abnormal. Hiruzen quickly looked over Kakashi, finding several differences in the young male. First off, his posture. Kakashi was usually a poised, confident man. Instead he was ridged and stiff, walking with slumped shoulders. Another difference was the dried blood on his flak-jacket. Usually when Kakashi came into his office to report a job well done, which was usually the next day or days…or even weeks…but when he _did_ finally report to him his attire was always clean and crisp, like he was some sort of germaphobe. He wasn't the man Hiruzen was use to, Kakashi was a man who was lazy and always had reading material in hand, no matter how inappropriate it was. His mood was pensive instead of his normal I-don't-care-I'm-Kakashi type of attitude. The Hokage was pulled out of his musings when Kakashi abruptly stopped, pointing his right index finger towards a wooden door. Hiruzen looked towards Kakashi, then the door.

_Odd__…__._ He couldn't help but think. But as the silver-haired man wished the Hokage obliged, moving towards the door the Sarutobi discovered that the door had a little rectangular glass window where you could see into the hospital room. Hiruzen could feel Kakashi's hard gaze watching his every movement, waiting for his reaction to what was behind the door. Hiruzen gazed through the little window and instantly tensed, his posture straightening. A frown formed wrinkles at the edges of his mouth. The horrid sight made his stomach pull in tight, like working through a final sit-up. He turned away, turning back to the dog-masked man. He shut his eyes painfully tight, trying to get rid of the image that would forever haunt him.

"I suppose I have some explaining to do." Hiruzen's miserable tone croaked.

"You better believe it," Kakashi said, for the very first time being informal to the Hokage but he was too annoyed to really care.

**~Omake Theater~**

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" Kushina jovially shouted, running up to catch up with him. Hiruzen had _just _left the classroom, he had been walking back to the Hokage Tower to get back to his paperwork, until that is of course the little redhead stopped him.

Hiurzen whipped around and smiled widely, "Ah. Kushina-chan. It's nice to see you…again." He joked.

Her cheeks went aflame at the Hokage's horrid attempt at a joke. Her hand instantly shot up to rub the nape of her neck as she closed her eyes and gave him a sheepish smile. "I um…I drew you something!" She hurriedly announced, clearly nervous and slightly embarrassed.

"Is that so?" Hiruzen asked. Kushina nodded her head furiously and handed him a piece of paper that was evenly folded into four squares. Hiruzen unfolded the paper and stared at the drawing, trying to decipher what exactly he was looking at. As soon as he figured out what it was, a blush dusted across his cheeks. An all-the-blood-in-your-body-to-your-face type of blush. Hiruzen looked from the paper to the little girl in front of him, who bore a giant sparkling smile. She was waiting for his feedback on the drawing, he just knew it. But how could someone respond to such a picture like this?

"Um….K-Kushina-chan? Where did you see this?" Hiruzen asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. This situation was just too awkward!

"Huh? Oh! They're everywhere! Almost everyone has one! I've always wanted to pet one, I heard they're so soft and cuddly and loved to be tickled and stroked softly, but I just hope it doesn't bite y'know! Because that would seriously hurt!" Kushina rambled on and on, making the Hokage's complexion turn a hue redder by the second.

"K-Kushina-chan! You shouldn't say such things! And if you are to tell someone about this, don't tell me! Tell another girl, or better yet, don't do those things until you're older! Much, _much _older!" Words spewed out of Hiruzen's mouth at an incredible pace. Perhaps Kushina's ramblings were contagious?

Kushina looked at the man like he'd grown a second head. "Sir? What are you talking about?"

"About your drawing! You shouldn't be interested in such things until your older," Hiruzen dropped down to one knee and rested his right hand on Kushina's shoulder, staring deeply into her eyes. "Promise me you won't? Until you're of the appropriate age, and you're ready?"

Kushina was now convinced this man was crazy. She knew the village leader was a lunatic! Nobody believed her! The _old man_ was just a disguise! Instead he was a super villain, Kushina was now sure of it!

"I…promise?" Kushina wearily said, looking hurriedly back and forth for possible escape routes.

"Good." The Hokage said as he got stood back up. "And also, you shouldn't draw such things Kushina-chan. It's inappropriate for a young lady such as yourself."

Hiruzen turned back around, ready once more to walk back to his awaiting office.

"I shouldn't draw pictures of kitty cats?" Kushina questioned, profoundly confused. Perhaps he really _was _senile.

Hiruzen paused in his steps once more. "It's a cat?" Hiruzen questioned skeptically, his back still turned to the redhead.

"Yeah! What'd you think it was?" Kushina asked.

Hiruzen _dropped _to the ground with a loud _thump_, where he started frothing at the mouth like a rabid animal. Ignoring Kushina's screams, a single thought ran through his head before he lost consciousness. _**That **__was a __**cat?!**_

**A huge thanks to ****The Girl In The Darkk**** for helping me with the Omake! It means a lot to me~ You should totally check her stories out by the way. If you****'****re into Black butler and yaoi, Ciel x Sebastian check out her story ****Online Lover****.**

**Also, a shout out to another of my super cool friends: ****dreamwithinadream262. ****She has a Naruto AU High school AU story up, and a OHSHC fic up as well. **

**So check them out if you****'****re looking for some awesome stories to read! **

**Also, huge thanks to you guys! Yes, you. The readers. You right there, reading this. I would like to thank you all for wasting your time reading this. It means the world to me! And if you guys have any questions about anything don****'****t be afraid to ask! I love reading the reviews. And I do intend to update at a faster rate, sorry I procrastinate while I procrastinate and am very lazy. Sorry ^~^; Well, stay fabulous and have an awesome day~**


	4. Chapter 4

"Where do you want me to begin?" asked Hiruzen, guilt prominent in his eyes.

Kakashi didn't even need to think too hard about the self-evident answer, "Start off with her name."

The Sarutobi sighed, gazing straight into Kakashi's pitch black eye-slits. He then said the two words that ruined Kakashi's night even more, possibly even serving to ruin his very short-lived life. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Kakashi's mouth whispered something but no audible sound came out, and his hands repeatedly clenched and unclenched into fists.

The aged Hokage shifted on his own two feet a bit nervously, somewhat intimidated by the young male's reaction. He was of course expecting a reaction, but then again he wasn't, for the Hatake didn't visibly display much outward emotion. But this was not quite what he had expected from him.

Kakashi on the other hand was downright furious, to the point of wanting to murder someone by thrusting his hand through their chest. He didn't know whether to be more furious with himself or the Village leader. His hypothesis was proven correct, something he'd feared. She was Naruto Uzumaki. Daughter of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, his sensei and his sensei's wife. His brain couldn't help itself from pointing out to him how much he'd truly failed. He had failed, miserably. Not like that was a surprise, though. Kakashi should've been use to this by now, it was like everything else in his life. He'd failed himself, his sensei and sensei's wife…but most importantly… he had let down that little girl named Naruto, who was currently in the next room, in a hospital bed on the throes of death.

"You told me she died five years ago. Nice to know what a complete ignorant douchebag you've let me be." Kakashi scoffed venomously, smothering Hiruzen with his immense sarcasm.

The Sarutobi was at a loss for words. Hiruzen opened his mouth to say he was sorry, but how could you simply apologize for something like that? A simple _sorry _didn't even begin to cover what he had done. He then clamped his mouth shut, allowing the regret to nestle down deep into the pit of his stomach.

"...Because this wasn't important information…at all..." Kakashi added, his sarcastic quip further adding to Hiruzen's immense pile of guilt.

"Kakashi...I don't even know where to begin..." Hiruzen started, closing his eyes and releasing a regretful sigh. "No amount of apologies can take back what I've done…and even though it most likely doesn't matter to you, I am deeply sorry."

When the Dog-ANBU agent didn't respond to his sincere apologize he ceased the moment and continued, "But I had my reasons."

"And what were those _oh-so-important_ reasons?" He asked, his derisively sarcastic hissy fit still not quite over yet.

Hiruzen, not phased in the slightest by the Hatake's sardonic remarks, decided to turn the tables and ask the silver-haired man a question. "Did you deem yourself fit for taking care of a newborn at the age of thirteen?"

Giving his question little-to-no thought, Kakashi felt the guilt and shame trickle through his pulsating veins. He hated to admit it, but deep down he knew the older man was correct in assuming him unfit for looking after a child. He also loathed to admit that he'd been acting out like a nine year old yearning for their parent's attention.

The wrinkled Hokage took Kakashi's silence as his obvious answer. "And besides...Naruto's..._special_."

Even though it couldn't have been made visible, a perfectly sculptured silver eyebrow rose in question. "Special? Like...mentally?" From what Kakashi could make of it, that seemed like the most plausible reason, due to his sensei's sometimes very _special_ brain, although ironically he was chalked up as a genius by his peers. A prodigy seen only once in a generation. So perhaps it came from Kushina's side? But she was an Uzumaki, and the famous Uzumaki's were renown for their vast intelligence, with having to work with intricate seals and whatnot.

Hiruzen shook his head, "No. More special as in...physically."

Although Kakashi was a prodigy himself, that didn't mean he didn't have his unwanted idiotic moments. "Physically? As in..." his mind instantly went south, deep inside the gutter. _Does that mean? No way! I knew Hokage-sama was a pervert but...little kids?_

Unfortunately for him, Kakashi's intelligence caught up with him and kicked in yet. "Ummm...Hokage-sama...could you further explain?"

The pruned elder sighed deeply in exasperation, not wanting to divulge deeper into details.

"You do know how Minato..._died_," Hiruzen's tongue twisted and tied at the word, "correct?"

The shriveled Hokage's slow dialect only served to deeply annoy the young shinobi, did he diagnose him as being ignorant?

Kakashi merely scoffed before hotly replying, "Of course I do! He gave up his life for the Village, fighting off the Kyuubi. But his death wasn't in vain, for he expertly exterminated the Nine-Tailed Demon."

The aging man shifted awkwardly on his feet once more, his gaze zooming past Kakashi and resting on the wooden hospital door that stood directly behind him.

"Lord Fourth was indeed slain by the paws of the Kyuubi…but…" His tone took on a few octaves, as if he were desperately attempting to keep his emotions in check, "The Kyuubi…as colossal and powerful as it is, simply cannot be put to rest so easily. It has far too much chakra. So...Minato did the only logically thing he could think of...he sealed it. During that sealing process, he sacrificed his own life alongside with Kushina."

Onyx eyes widened in shock at the newest portion of the tale he'd just heard, "Sealing?"

Kakashi wasn't as talented as an Uzumaki, or his sensei for that matter, in that certain area of expertise. His abilities didn't stretch as far as he would've liked, rendering him completely useless in this subject. The silver-haired man did of course know the basics, like any shinobi should.

For example a basic essential for the everyday life of a shinobi would be the sealing scroll. A scroll was rendered completely useless without it's seal. The seal is of course the most important part of the scroll, for it allows the scroll to contain innumerable amounts of items. The bigger and stronger the seal, the more a scroll can contain. So if the Kyuubi was compared to a sealing scroll...that meant it was like the item being sealed into something. But…what exactly was it sealed into?

Kakashi couldn't even fathom the possibility of something so _monstrous _being able to be sealed! It was a preposterous notion! Yet…somehow…it was reality. Right before him, being explained with a crystal clarity.

But that arose a pocketful of questions. Where could something like _that _even be sealed? It was self-evident something of such proportions couldn't simply be stuffed into something as small as a scroll…so what then?

Unbeknownst to the youthful ANBU agent, his foot started a rapping, a tapping, at the tiled floor.

The cog's in Kakashi's brain started churning, working overtime to solve this complex equation. He started thinking outside the box, thinking of objects that were considerably bigger. Objects that could be able to withstand such complex seals and immense amounts of chakra.

Something bigger then a scroll…something big…like…

It then struck Kakashi like a harsh slap to the face, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place perfectly.

"He didn't!" He growled out like a ravenous, carnivorous wolf.

Hiruzen's dull chocolate brown eyes flickered back to the ANBU agent. "I'm afraid so."

More boiling hot anger poured into Kakashi. He was like a glass that was teeming, destined to soon tip over, and when it did, it wouldn't be pretty.

His hardened eyes gazed up to the once white ceiling tiles, he then darkly muttered, "Sensei, you're an idiot." As soon as the words left his lips, laughter erupted from inside his diaphragm and elicited out in a booming explosion. A sickening chime that pitifully attempted to disguise all the self-loathing, blame, remorse and enmity he held deep within his very soul.

A monotonous voice rang out, snatching Kakashi in it's hold and dragging him back to the sick and twisted thing he called reality, "Minato wanted Naruto to be viewed as a noble hero, not a horrendous monster."

"Yeah, well, look where that got her! Looks like his plan worked out _real _well!" Kakashi seethed, eyes, or what Hiruzen could only assume to be his eyes, realigning with his own. The deep, dark pools were set ablaze with a raging fire that wouldn't be sedated easily.

The elder's countenance turned grim. "You must take into account Minato's perspective, Kakashi. It was either one life or thousands."

Allowing the newly acquainted information to seep in, the silver-haired bloke desperately tried to envision being in his teacher's dastardly position. He tried to imagine the choices he had to quickly make, for if he faltered for even a second a whole village could've been lost.

Your very own offspring, or your Village?

With a jaw locked in and teeth beginning to teeter to and fro in a grinding mass, a single question question flitted across the young lad's mind. _What would happen to Naruto now? _

"That's what I was about to ask you," Hiruzen stated, shocking Kakashi once more out of his reverie.

Kakashi stared at the man before him in questioning, how had he…he certainly wasn't a Yamanaka…

A tiny, almost nonexistent smirk broke out on the Sarutobi's face. "You shouldn't voice your questions aloud, my dear boy. So now I repeat, what becomes of Naruto now?"

"I promised sensei, that if if anything were to…happen…that I'd take her under my wing and raise her…but…" He declared, but his words seemed to drift off into space.

"I'll make arrangements then, to find her a suitable family to live with. As for right now, I bid you farewell, please take care of yourself." He commented, swiftly turning around and flinging the door open. With a hand gently curling atop the side of the door, the withered Hokage looked back, "Kakashi…"

"Yes, sir?" came his reply.

"Watch over her."

And with that, the honored Third Hokage made his exit, leaving behind an extremely conflicted ninja in his wake.

**~XxX~**

It didn't take long at all for him to re-enter her temporary hospital room.

It was the same as before, the only difference was the Nara medic-nin, Shikakura, was no where in sight and the young child, Naruto, was now cleaned up and in a pristine blue hospital gown.

Once more Kakashi gently sat down in the extremely uncomfortable plastic chair, which was still conveniently located beside her temporary bed.

He allowed himself to drop his weary head into his cupped hands and release a sigh. _When will this damn night end? _

Nobody answered his internal question, of course, he wasn't really expecting an answer, for that was too much to ask for in life. He was instead given the glorious gift of painstaking silence.

**~XxX~**

Noises began to come to her. It was like she was hearing them through a filter. The noises were muffled and indistinct. It started off with an extremely dull, far off, fuzzy sound. But as the seconds seeped into minutes, her ears slowly became unclogged and as if a dam had broken, a flush of sounds overtook her. The immediate sound her keen ears were confronted with was of course a peculiar dripping noise, definitely a liquid. And then she was bombard with a certain type of _clacking_. The clacking however kept fading and fading until it finally sizzled out.

She couldn't put her finger on what could possibly be making such noises, and it only served to annoy her to no end.

The next sound she was greeted with however, was a sharp, barking cough that resounded all around her. She winced, her whole body oddly feeling like a giant, fresh bruise.

The diminutive blonde desperately attempted to sit up, but it was futile, for her body was still extremely feeble.

Kakashi, who was now smiling sadly underneath his mask, at the young Uzumaki, With exaggerated slowness as to not scare Naruto, he gently walked to the edge of her bed.

"Naruto," He said, "it would be most wise to lie back down. Your body won't be able to take it."

Even though he had earnestly tried to prevent it, he still managed to strike fear into her heart. She visibly paled more than what her complexion already was, and began to try and furiously sit up and possibly escape, even though it was obvious her erratic movements to desperately escape were hurting her physically.

Every trace of a smile wiped off his face in an instant as he brought his hands up to help her up, but that only seemed to make her erratically jerk around more. It was like working with a feral animal, one wrong move and it'd bite you or harm itself in the process of trying to run away. As if a magnetic pulse lied within his arms, the limbs instantly clamped down to his sides, and he took a cautious step back to give her some space, hoping to calm her down.

Brilliant blue eyes turned to him with pain written in them. A flood of tears spilled out of those glorious eyes, streaking her whiskered cheeks as she sobbed, "I-I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! Please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Kakashi's hands clenched and unclenched into fists unconsciously and without his consent. He vowed to murder those men. He vowed to murder them for the atrocities they caused, especially stripping this young girl of her childish innocence.

"Naruto," he started once more in a more soothing voice, moving closer to the blonde and gently placing a gloved hand atop her head, which successfully ceased all her spastic movements, immobilizing her body, "I am not going to kill you, nor hurt you in the slightest. You have nothing to be afraid of. You're safe now."

Through all of her intense struggling she had managed to prop herself up enough into a somewhat upright position. She looked towards the mysterious person donning a porcelain white mask, which had red paint curling at the lips, and from what she could piece together it was a puppy dog.

She then jerked her arm up, forgetting about all the pain and allowed a coherent groan of agony to slip from between her lips. She then lifted up an erect right pinkie, and stared at the silver-haired man, "Promise?"

Kakashi stared down to her, wondering if she was actually serious. When her pinkie didn't recede he knew Naruto wasn't fooling around. Kakashi weighed out the possibility of just standing there staring at her until she got the hint and put down her phalange.

But one look from her big round blue eyes and Kakashi found himself crumbling. He silently cursed his own weakness.

He stepped forward and stopped before her, bent his knees down ever so slightly, and hooked his pinkie around her own, where he felt her squeeze. It was extremely subtle and gentle, but that didn't mean he didn't acknowledge it.

After unhooking his pinkie and settling down once more in that pesky chair, he allowed the silence to consume them both once more. Kakashi wasn't really one for conversation, but what type of conversation could one strike up with a five year old that was on the verge of death?

"Zoo man?" That voice nearly broke his heart. Her voice: small and childish and desperately trying to be hopeful and sweet, trying to sound like nothing had happened at all. But in Naruto's ears it sounded strangely hoarse, like it belonged to someone else.

When the silver-haired man nodded his head in acknowledgement to signal his odd way of saying he was indeed listening, she continued to ask a question that was plaguing her mind, "Am I dead? Because Jiji told of me this place called Heaven, and-"

"No, Naruto. You're very much alive." He abruptly cut her off, quickly silencing her.

"How do you know?" Naruto prodded further, not fully convinced.

"Because I saved you, and I'm alive so I couldn't be in Heaven, and neither can you. And I personally brought you here, to this placed call the Hospital." He explained, which Naruto still really didn't fully understand but decided not to ask any further questions on the matter.

Another thing occurred to her, making Naruto's eyebrows curl in puzzlement. "How do you know my name?"

Kakashi fumbled ever so slightly to come up with an excuse, but wound up coming up with, "Your medical files, don't worry, boring adult stuff."

Naruto nodded, although she didn't quite understand and decided to ask yet another question, "Did you really save me?"

The ANBU agent didn't waste a breath and instead nodded his head in confirmation.

Naruto was staring at him with wide eyes, rendered completely speechless. She didn't even know what to even say. What could she say? A simple 'thank you' just wasn't enough. The man had just saved her life for crying out loud! And all she could do in return was say _thank you_?

"You know my name…so what's yours?" Her small voice asked, somewhat meekly.

"Dog-san."

Naruto's lips curled into a frown, in obvious distaste at the lack of a real name. Trying to obtain the information she yearned for she tried once more, "What's your _real _name?"

"I'm not allowed to release such information. Adult stuff." Came his clipped reply, forced to abide by the ANBU rules.

Naruto huffed and then proceeded to ask in a whiny tone, "How am I suppose to thank my savior without knowing his name?"

"No thanks is needed, it's all apart of the job. To protect Konoha and all it's residents," he commented.

For the umpteenth time that night, that small hospital room greeted the silence with open arms.

It lasted for quite some time too, that is…until Kakashi decided to break it, "Naruto…do you remember anything about the men that…attacked you tonight?"

Oceanic blue eyes instantly dropped down to her hands that rest in her lap, she swallowed the ever-growing lump in her throat, trying to bite back the feeling of nausea.

"…I remember eating a bowl of goodness," She slowly forced out, tone seriously lacking the vigor it had held moments before.

Kakashi tried to push down the guilt nudging at him, but he had to know. If she could give him even the slightest detail he could find those monsters disguised in human clothing. He knew it was selfish, making a child replay the gruesome events that she had just experienced, but his hatred had surpassed his morals and sound judgement.

"Then…there was screaming a-and they cornered me! And…the pain…there was so much pain…and blood…it was everywhere…" Naruto's voice died in her throat as her thoughts drifted hazily.

After about a minute of pure, intense silence that made Kakashi want to dive out the window, she turned to him with smile gracing her whiskered face, and Kakashi knew she obviously was hiding something.

"Have you ever had something called ramen? It's the greatest thing in the history of ever! I've never eaten something so amazing!"

He stared at that depressed state her eyes were showing so bluntly. He frowned. Was she going to be okay?

"Yeah, I have. It's not bad." Kakashi replied, not sounding pleased with the little information she did give, but honestly what did he expect? She was five, not the type of five year old he was, and he had to keep that in mind. He inwardly sighed, allowing himself to drop the topic and turned his attention to the end of the hospital bed. Or so she thought. This man was still wearing a mask, after all.

He warily brought his hand to his hair and raked his fingers through it, pulling slightly in frustration.

A jaw-breaking yawn brought his attention back to the little blonde, who was began slowly sinking lower and lower in the bed.

"Doggy-san? Could you tell me a goodnight story?" She asked in a small, almost afraid tone.

When Naruto didn't receive harsh words or a stern order of going to bed instantly, like she was use to, she was greatly surprised.

"Well…" Kakashi trying to think of a bedtime story that didn't involve death or anything gory, "There was…this sandwich….and it could talk?"

The older male wanted to slap himself.

"What kind of sandwich?" A low mumble asked.

"Uh-I don't know...peanut butter and jelly?" He questioned more then told.

The slightest smirk perched itself upon Naruto's lips. This dog-masked wearing gentleman hadn't the slightest idea of how to tell a good story, but she could see his good intentions, which made the terrible story truly good in her eyes. It wasn't like he was called The Man Of A Thousand Bed Time Stories.

"Doggy-san that's a boring sandwich…" Came Naruto's nearly incoherent response, sleep beginning to take over.

"Then it's was a tunafish sandwich." He casually corrected.

"No way! Those are super smelly! A tunafish sandwich wouldn't get any friends...but I would be friends with the tuna sandwich…I think?"

Kakashi stared at his sensei's daughter before booming, truly real, laughter, the first laugh in a _real long _time sounded from within him.

It was nice to truly laugh, to let it all out and not pretend for once. It was…refreshing.

His laughter died down when he saw Naruto's eyelids droop lower and lower until they fully closed.

The storm cloud gray-colored haired man arose from the chair and trekked towards the door, every intent on finally leaving and going home to get some well-deserved rest, whether it be a few hours at most, before having to go back to work. Kakashi rested his hand atop the metal doorknob when a loud screech of bed springs sounded from behind him, then air being harshly sucked through teeth in a way that reminded him of snakes. Along with the hissing there was also the moan of, "Ow…"

"Wait!" She called out, instantly making the man halt. "Will I...see you again?" Naruto asked in a small voice. She was afraid of his answer. Afraid that's she'd never see her savior ever again.

Without even turning to her he answered her. "Yes." And with that, he left.

**~XxX~**

"Are you coming to bed, dear?" A woman's melodious, honey sweet voice asked.

"Hn." Was the only reply the woman received.

She smiled, weaving her brush's bristles through her silky charcoal hair. After smoothing it down and deeming it acceptable the woman set down her brush. She spun on her heel, intent on asking her husband another question, only for a loud, strangled gasp to escape.

Standing before her was a female ANBU agent, donning a porcelain frog mask.

Her husband appeared in an instant, eyes unconsciously set ablaze, it's usual onyx hue seeping blood red.

Being in the ninja world for as long as the woman had she should've been used to this by now, even if she was a retired Kunoichi.

The frog-ANBU held out a scroll and asked in a clipped tone, "Mikoto Uchiha?"

"Yes?" The woman, Mikoto, politely asked.

Instead of answering the Uchiha woman however, the ANBU agent handed her the scroll and disappeared as fast as she appeared.

Mikoto touched the seal, releasing a small amount of her chakra, the scroll opening with a prominent _pop. _

Her sharp eyes quickly scanned over the swirly calligraphy that belonged to the one and only Sandaime Hokage.

After finishing it, she lowered the scroll and looked to her still miffed husband who now how had his arms crossed over his chest, the ever prominent frown on his face more deeper.

"We've been summoned to the Hokage's office."

**Hey there, everyone! I would first like to thank dreamwithinadream262 for helping me out in this chapter, sandwich's man…those are always fun. I would also like to thank you all for reading, and sticking with me…even though I haven't updated in a while… But hey! I get to it…eventually! But anywhore…the story's picking up a little bit, ne? Tell me what you guys think! I'd love to know, and don't be afraid to ask anything. But only really review if you want to, I'm not going to force you to do anything…anyways! I hope all you people reading this have an awesome night/day! Stay fabulous~ **

**Until next time, **

**~Sandafairy **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hiya folks! Sandafairy here! I know I usually put these author's note's at the bottom, but oh well~ First off, I would like to sincerely apologize for my absence and no chapter last month, thus why this chapter is nearly quadruple the normal amount of words. (Over 15,000 words! That's 40 ****_freaking _****pages!) Secondly, the format of the thoughts of characters are a bit wonky in this chapter, I apologize. Usually **_italics _**are thoughts, which they still are, but for this chapter they're also tiny snippets of flashbacks that I didn't want to put line breakers in for. Yet there** _**is **_**a flashback that was too long, so I had to use line breakers. Sorry ^~^; It'll make sense when you read, I promise! ...Hopefully... And thirdly, I really tried my hardest to make the characters not OOC. But I would like to explain that Fugaku is a Uchiha, and does have a thick head and ****_is _****a wee bit power-hungry. And Naruto has just been through a traumatic experience, so of course she wouldn't be bouncing all over the place right away. Oh! ALSO I felt ****_terribly _****bashing the characters, they're all my children. And all serve important roles, Fugaku's just being...a Uchiha. (You'll know what I mean in like 2 minutes) And last, but certainly not least, I would love to thank** _dreamwithinadream262 _**for helping me out at parts in this fanfic for when I got stuck. Lots of effort went into this chapter, a whole month's worth of time, I sincerely hope you enjoy~**

"What's stated? Why exactly are we being summoned? Is it another Clan Meeting?" Fugaku inquired, his ever prominent frown deepening ever so slightly. He had been forced, like every other Clan Head, to attended a meeting not so long ago. A few days ago, to be exact. The Clan Meetings weren't bad, per say. It was the_ people_ within them that made those meetings drag on for eons longer then they seemed. Each meeting always served to fulfill it's lifelong duty: filling Fugaku with dread. The biggest annoyance was that woman, Tsume Inuzuka. Fugaku could merely tolerate the…_woman_, if you could call her that…for so long. Like most, if not every Inuzuka, she was _extremely_ loud, her gruff voice piercing and sharp like a feral dog's bark. Not only that, for a woman, let alone a Clan Head, she had little to no manners whatsoever. Fugaku knew during the meetings he shouldn't be surprised by her lack of manners, but what little manners she did preserve never ceased to amaze nor aggravate him. And don't even get Fugaku started on her repugnant stench! Her odor was like every other Inuzuka member, reeking of wet dog. But that wasn't the worse part, oh no, not even close. It was the dog feces. Yes, you read correctly. Tsume Inuzuka had the terrible habit of tracking doggy doo-doo all over the place. It was as if the Inuzuka Clan Head had grown accustomed to the scent such a long time ago that so she doesn't even realize it anymore.

And don't even get him started on that lazy Nara. He was a real piece of work, if Fugaku did say so himself. It always appeared as if Shikaku would rather be any place_ but_ at their meetings. It was as if they were too tedious and mundane to even bother attending. Fugaku knew for a fact that if he weren't attending the meetings he'd be teaching his son, whose name Fugaku didn't bother to remember, about that useless game, shogi. Or perhaps he'd spend his oh-so-precious time getting berated by his temperamental wife, or even lazying around staring at clouds when he could've been doing more useful things with his life instead of wasting it away on such pointless things.

To add to that, the Uchiha man could barely stand the gluttonous Akimichi. Chouza, like the rest of his useless Clan, was only concerned about stuffing his face with his never ending piles of food and snacks. Fugaku shook his head slightly, in disgust, recalling the copious amounts of crumbs such a man could accumulate. When he said they were everywhere, he meant _everywhere. _His disheveled clothes, his monstrous mane he called hair, his plump face. Crumbs even littered the tables and seats that were individually assigned to the Clan Heads. But fear not, Chouza would expertly swipe the crumbs into his meaty, baseball-mitt sized palm and vacuum it down. Even the crumbs his gigantic behind had sat on. It was truly pathetic how he couldn't even waste a _single _crumb. The Akimichi baffled Fugaku. How could one consume so much? In just one sitting? The towering amounts of food Akimichi's ate in just a single meal could serve the whole village, it was as if they didn't know when to stop eating. Instead of worrying about their next meal or snack break, they should've been worrying about training and honing their skills; it wasn't like they had a plethora of useful jutsus. Maybe then they could be lucky enough to shed a few pounds and actually fit through a door. But that was merely wishful thinking. Miracles like those don't happen in real life.

The Uchiha's thoughts then lingered to the distasteful Yamanaka's, which easily made his hatred escalate to an even higher degree. In Fugaku's clouded eyes they were extremely close-minded, completely unreceptive to new ideas other Clan Heads offered to the table, nothing like the Uchiha, at _all._ It always proved to be a constant battle for the Yamanaka Clan Head to approve of such things. Like the Nara, who seemed to be more interested in sleep and the Akimichi who appeared to be more interested in food, Inoichi, along with the rest of his ignorant Clan, was more invested in his own self appearance. Vanity was indeed his top priority. Fugaku fought the urge to roll his eyes at the effeminate _man_. The Uchiha wouldn't be shocked in any way, shape or form if Inoichi went to get manicures along with pedicures to match. He also wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Inoichi went to the salon to get his hair done. When anyone dare to question the blond's hair length, he reverted to the excuse of it being a traditional thing passed on through the generations. Fugaku didn't believe an ounce of it.

The Aburame...Fugaku didn't have much to say about them. Except that they were indeed creepy, everyone in the village, and any other village really, would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment any day. Even though the Aburame were…disturbing…their bugs did prove themselves worthy enough to be resourceful on infiltration missions; although Fugaku would never admit that. He'd take it to his grave. And Shibi knew well enough _not_ to send his bugs near the Uchiha's general vicinity during their meetings. Shibi knew fully well the extent of the Uchiha's apathetic nature. Fugaku would squish Shibi's little bug friends without a second thought. He knew this because Fugaku had already done it. Twice.

The Sarutobi were another irksome Clan. The Clan Head that represented the Sarutobi's was none other then Hiruzen Sarutobi, of course. The Uchiha bloke found it somewhat unfair that the Sandaime Hokage was able to speak freely for the Clan. It was unjustified, due to the fact that the Hokage already had an abundance of power already. But Fugaku knew there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing legal, anyways. It wasn't like the Uchiha Clan would revolt against him and the village or attempt a mass genocide. The Uchiha were far better then that. Uchiha's had morals.

Anyways, even though Hiruzen was the Leader of the village, that didn't mean Fugaku had to like the man. He resembled a raisin greatly. Or perhaps a wrinkly prune? The Uchiha surely wished he smelt like one, even though he hated both foods and their abominable scents. Even though they both were great sources of nutrition and would most likely benefit him in his shinobi career. But instead of smelling like the said fruits, the old man instead reeked of smoke; due to his repulsive and rather addictive habit of smoking. Fugaku didn't quite understand the Sandaime Hokage. Why do something that could kill you quicker? The goal of the ninja game was to stay alive for as long as you could, not die as fast as you can. And dodge boulders. Those were extremely pesky. But anyways! You could easily die any day in the line of duty, why die from lung disease? That wasn't noble or brave, not in the slightest. To be quite honest, Fugaku was a bit surprised that the old-timer was still around and kicking, seeing as to how the smoking hadn't quite killed him yet. What irked Uchiha Fugaku more then anything was the illustrious title that was hailed upon the man. Hokage. The Third Hokage. The ruler of a village. A man with unfathomable amounts of power. Power to fight, power to rule over others, to have others bow at your feet and crumble at the tips of your fingers! Not a position for an old codger like himself. Hiruzen should've remained retired and should have passed on the title to another candidate, perhaps this time a more worthy leader, like for example…a Uchiha. Fugaku knew one of his clansmen would prove to be a great Hokage, if not the best. And if they offered the position, Fugaku knew perfectly well that he'd be the village's next leader; shown by how well he ran his own Clan. It was self-evident just how well he could run the entire village. It wasn't like he'd abuse power or anything. Nope. Not at all.

He shook his head slightly, referring back to his previous thought process. Even though the Uchiha Clan Head held animosity towards the withering man, he couldn't help but hold some amount of respect for him. Not just any ninja could be bestowed the title God of Shinobi.

And lastly, those damn _vermin._ The _Hyuuga_. Anger pooled in his stomach, branching out throughout his entire body. The mere thought of that…_Clan_…made Fugaku want to heave bile. But alas, the _Hyuuga's_ weren't worthy of a single ounce of Mikoto's cooking, even if it was half-digested. He wouldn't dare waste a single ounce of anything that belonged to him on those _scum._ And what was with their ridicules hair styles? Literally all male Hyuuga's trained their hair to go past their shoulder blades, and got extremely offended when you mistook them for the opposite gender. Words, however, couldn't begin to describe the enmity he felt towards the Hyuuga's, especially the Clan Head, Hiashi. He was far too proud, and for absolutely nothing. Hiashi didn't have a single thing to be proud about. The Hyuuga definitely weren't the strongest Clan, like Hiashi foolishly believed, and the Clan wouldn't be getting stronger anytime soon; especially with that daughter of his. Fugaku had the displeasure of witnessing Hiashi's runt of a first child, Hinata. She was destined to not bring her Clan or her village any justice, now if she was more like his first son, Itachi...

Mikoto's dark, keen eyes scanned over the scroll's writing once more, before they flickered back up towards her husband, noticing the _extremely_ small tick of his right eyebrow, and how his lips had thinned out, further tugging his lips into an even deeper frown. She knew well enough that it was his own subtle way of displaying his displeasure. She soon reported back, "Nothing regarding our presence is stated. But fortunately, no meeting will be called soon."

His shoulder's sagged down a fraction, an almost unnoticeable gesture, as if he were stressed about the news of a Meeting being called into order.

Mikoto then wrapped the scroll back up and delicately placed it upon a nearby dresser, and smiled to her husband, "Why don't we go to sleep, there's no use in worrying about it now. I don't believe it's anything vital."

He nodded, flipping over the satin covers and worming his way inside, before tugging them over himself; Mikoto repeating his movements. Both turned on their sides to face each other, Mikoto being the only one smiling before whispering a, "Goodnight, Hun," The Uchiha man gave a soft grunt in return, his own rather odd way of saying "goodnight", then drifted his eyes shut. The Uchiha matriarch slyly flipped onto her other back, then listened to make sure the movements hadn't disturbed her husband's slumber. The only sound she received was her husband's soft snores, which soon filled the entire bedroom. Her smile washed away from her lips as she gazed at the ceiling above her.

It was odd, to say the least. And even though she instructed her husband not to worry about it, which he most likely wasn't seeing as to how calm and collected he always was, but she couldn't help but fret. Mikoto knew she shouldn't, she really did, but she just couldn't help it. Usually when a scroll came through their household, it was almost always for Itachi. The usual type of scroll, missions. Missions summing him into work, for Itachi Uchiha was no usual ten year old. He was a fully graduated Chunin. A certified killer. Even though his innocence was slowly crumbling, chipping away after he returned from missions covered in another's blood, or hardened eyes that looked far off into blank space, or deathly still silence that accompanied him almost all the time now, he was still Mikoto's little baby. Whether he liked it or not. And Mikoto knew well enough that she couldn't protect him from the world anymore, he'd seen too much of it already. But she would still keep trying to maintain whatever innocence he did have left. She wouldn't let it just slip away so easily.

She sighed and squeezed her eyes painfully shut, willing herself to keep away the tears. This was the path he chose, the path he was destined to lead. There was no changing what he'd seen. What he'd done. What he'd become.

As she shifted once more in the bed, her thoughts no longer lingered on the scroll resting on her dresser, but on what her son had become.

Sleep came to her, but not easily.

**~XxX~**

"What do you mean you're not going to be here for breakfast? It's Sunday! We always eat together on Sunday!" A young, high-pitched voice whined.

Mikoto's eyes flickered over to the clock above the stove, which read 10:00 in bright, crimson numbers. Her onyx eyes then shifted to the bean sprout five year, also known as her youngest son, Sasuke. She flashed him a kind smile as she apologized, "I'm sorry, Sasuke. But it appears the Hokage has called your Father and I to his office this morning. I won't be able to make breakfast, but I'll be back in time for lunch."

Sasuke pouted, clearly displeased with her answer. He stuck out his bottom lip as he gave her the most powerful technique known to ever exist, the puppy eyes! "Can't you just…not attend?"

She bent down onto one knee, kissing his forehead then replied, "Sorry honey, but you know the Hokage's word is law," Mikoto then smiled once more, "But nice try, Sasu-chan."

She ignored the prominent frown in distaste he sent her way as Sasuke grumbled words under his breath at the obvious hatred for the silique. Once he'd gotten over it, he instantly started up again and whined further, "But Kaa-saaaaaannnnn!"

Before she could berate him, a monotonous voice cut in, "Sasuke."

Said boy instantly stiffened, clamping his mouth shut as his gaze, along with his mother's, bolted over to the other child present in the room. Itachi.

Itachi glided over to his younger brother soundlessly, raised two fingers and bopped his brother on the forehead, which caused him to blow his cheeks out in frustration. "Do not whine. You heard mother. She will be back in time for lunch."

Sasuke stared at his brother, then stared down at his feet as he cheeks started to heat up, he was a bit ashamed and embarrassed for acting the way he had. He was conscious to the fact that he was being extremely childish, but Sasuke couldn't help it. Sundays were always Sasuke's favorite day of the week, which was odd for a child his age. Most kids favored Saturday, so they could laze around all day and goof off. Or perhaps even Friday, which led into Saturday. But not this Uchiha. He adored Sunday's because it was the only day his whole family sat down at the table and actually ate breakfast together. During the week his father was always out, far too busy doing work for the Uchiha Police. And along with his father's absence, Itachi was almost never around for breakfast either, always on missions. So, on most days during the week it was only his mother and himself eating breakfast, and lunch. Fugaku and Itachi usually always came back for dinner, with the exception of paperwork or other things keeping Fugaku back, and Itachi being out of the village to keep him from attending the meal.

But Sunday was different. It was special. His father was off on Sunday's, and Itachi rarely had missions on this particular day. Sasuke looked forward to this day all week. A full _six _days! That was like the equivalence of a year to the young boy. And besides, Sasuke can only tell so much to his mother. And it wasn't his mother Sasuke was trying to impress, it was his darling father. But that's a story for another time.

"You'll take care of him for me, won't you?"

All Mikoto received in return was a small, almost nonexistent smile. She trekked over to him, and planted a kiss on his head, "Have a good time, sweetie."

He nodded wordlessly. His calculating stare watched after her as she walked away, patting her pant pockets, as if double checking that she hadn't forgotten anything. Not that Itachi could place what she would forget. It wasn't like she needed anything, seeing as to how she wasn't exactly a kunoichi anymore. She had retired a few years before the birth of Itachi.

Before Mikoto could slip out the door with her husband, she turned around and gave Sasuke a pointed look, "Don't cause your brother any trouble. And when I come back my kitchen table better be in one piece, are we clear?"

A tiny frown tugged at his lips as he tried to keep his voice from sounding like an irritable whine, "Kaa-saaaaaannn, it was one time! Drop it already!"

In truth, it hadn't been his fault. It was Itachi's fault for not properly teaching him how to stop a fire jutsu. Let's just say, that was his first and last attempt at any jutsus.

She tapped her black shinobi sandal against the wooden floor, which she had just slipped on previously, "Sasuke?"

He rolled his inky colored eyes towards the ceiling, "Crystal."

When the door slowly drifted shut, signaling their parents had _finally_ left to go to the Hokage's office, Sasuke released a sigh. His gaze then flitted over to his big brother. "What's for breakfast?"

"Eggs...?"

**~XxX~**

The Uchihas leisurely strolled through the village, Fugaku rather begrudgingly, but didn't dare to protest. Mikoto on the other hand was was quite enamored with the sights of the village, taking in everything within it, even though she'd seen it millions of times before. It was pleasant to get out of the Uchiha Compound once in awhile, not that she didn't love her family, or her Clan. But staying in one place for too long, like a bird in cage, would fill anyone with a sense of wanderlust.

The couple past various people on there way to the Hokage's Tower. Many stiffened upon seeing the notable male Clan Head, and fumbled to hurriedly bow, even if they weren't apart of the Clan. Some individual's lips curled back into disgust as they spat, that is until Fugaku's cold gaze locked with theirs and they looked down to their feet, cowardly and ashamed. Many whispered, especially women to one another, gossiping and making up rumors as to why they had stepped out of their Compound. Just like the adults, children alike also stepped out of their walkway, eyes anywhere but on them, most likely due to their fright of the abrasive Uchiha man next to Mikoto. She was used to this behavior, even if she didn't like it, so she flashed a warm, kind smile to the children. It was her own way of saying, "Please don't be afraid,"

In return they fumbled to draw on their own smiles, but when they did, they were fully sincere and no longer filled with freight.

A soft grunt pulled the woman out of her musings, the gigantic Hokage Tower standing before her eyes. Fugaku surged forward, yanking on the door's handle and holding it open for her. A smile graced her lips once more as she whispered a soft, "Thank you," and entered, with her husband in tow.

The sound of constant, boisterous chatter filled their ears, and from the looks of it, it did not appear to be ceasing any time soon. Mikoto's eyes flickered around, taking in the familiar sight. They were currently on the First Floor of the Hokage's Tower, which you could say was the Waiting Room. The spacious room was littered with plush seats, which were almost always filled with people. They were of course awaiting their turn to speak with the Hokage, or waiting to schedule an appoint to speak with the Hokage. In the center of the room was a large circular desk, that held a female secretary, who looked rather weary and swamped with paperwork at the moment. Mikoto regretted walking over to the poor woman and bothering her.

"I'm sorry to bother you ma'am, but—"

The woman's gaze flickered up to her at the sound of Mikoto's melodious voice and she hurriedly cut in, "Oh! Uchiha-san! Hokage-sama is awaiting your arrival, please, go right ahead. I assume you know the way?"

A guttural sound emitted from beside Mikoto, she knew it was caused by the girl's intrusion that displeased Fugaku. The Uchiha matriarch did find it rude, but didn't quite mind it as much as her husband, she nodded, "Yes, thank you. Have a wonderful day."

As the duo walked away leisurely side-by-side, the woman's voice caught up to them, "You too!"

Fugaku's eyes rolled at the impertinent woman's demeanor, but Mikoto smiled at her genuine words.

As they approached the first set of stairs, Fugaku slowed his pace down, waiting for his wife to take the lead. She couldn't help but huff slightly under breath. She never quite understood why he did this, even though they'd been married for quite some time. The only plausible answer she could come up with, is if she were to fall he'd be right behind her to catch him. Or perhaps it really didn't have a hidden meaning and she was simply overthinking it? But either way, even if she was a retired kunoichi, that didn't mean she couldn't take care of herself. She could walk up and down a staircase perfectly fine.

After what felt like eons later, they finally reached their destination. The Third Floor.

The Hokage Tower was divided into three floors. The First of course being the Waiting Room. The Second was a Floor completely devoted to documents and paperwork regarding all fields. Paperwork such as missions reports, ninja registrations, academics throughout the years, testing results and failures an example being the Chunin Exams, and even copies of some medical documents. As you could guess, it was heavily guarded. And if you weren't assigned to the Floor, the only way to gain permitted entrance was having the actual physical Hokage by your side, or having signed documentation from the Hokage. Both not easy to require.

As they stepped foot onto the floor, they were greeted with the sight of yet another desk. This time a young lady sadly wasn't behind it. Instead a crone sat perched upon a chair behind the desk, face filled with disgust and utter loathing as she filled out paperwork. Her silvery hair with minimal wisps of brown that streaked it, would bob to and fro as she shook her head in frustration. It seemed this withering woman put a great deal of effort and time into her hair, for Mikoto could smell the irritating fragrance of hairspray from where she stood, which was a rather far distance. It didn't take a shinobi to smell that. Mikoto sympathized and felt extremely bad for any Inuzuka who had to pass by, or wait in the seats near her desk to speak with the Hokage. This woman was of course, Hiruzen's personal secretary, who assisted him with the overwhelming piles of paperwork that were given to the Hokage. The documents she was given were of course of little importance. Mikoto couldn't fathom how she managed to snag this job. Who in their right mind would dare to hire a secretary as grumpy as this one? A secretary is the first person you see when you enter an establishment, they're meant to make you feel welcome. She most certainly did not.

The woman didn't dare look up, whether she noticed their presence or not was unknown, it was hard to tell really, seeing as she couldn't sense chakra. She was of course a civilian.

To not waste any more time, the Uchiha duo decided to bypass her and trek down the lengthy hallway that led to the Sandaime's Office. As they step into the hallway, Mikoto's midnight eyes flash over the copious framed photos. Photos of Konoha's Legendary Heroes. They were in meticulous, countless rows on both sides of the walls. She vaguely wondered how many people were on the walls, and what they'd do when they ran out of space. However, her eyes locked on one photo in particular. It was the only photo in the hall she ever looked forward to. It filled her with a sense of regret and despair, but also swelling pride. There was much controversy over this one particular framed photo. Thousands argued amongst themselves whether it should be taken down, while very little said it should stay put. None voiced their opinions to the Hokage, of course. But she knew the old man was keenly aware of the shinobi who passed it with looks of disgust. Even though many sided against the photo, Mikoto was on the minority who believed it should stay put. A tiny, sad smile tugged at her lips before Fugaku's gaze landed on her, tearing her onyx eyes away from the photo of the hero. The hero with silvery hair.

It was not long before they came upon the wooden bronze doors. Fugaku raised a single fist and lightly rapped his knuckles an even four times, a low, yet even, "Come in," was soon heard. Fugaku stepped in front of his wife, pushing the door wide open, she once again whispered a "thank you" and entered with him behind her. As the door carefully shut behind them, a surge of blue overtook the room for a split second, a noticeable indication that a barrier seal had been put up upon their arrival.

Hiruzen wasn't the only person in the room with them, another young gentlemen, who appeared to be in his mid twenties stood next to the Hokage, lending him his ear as he listened with rapt attention. Mikoto would have passed him off for nobody, until her attention was drawn to the rather noticeable weal-like scar that leaked across the bridge of his nose and ran down across the left side of his face. It was in that moment she could asses the brunette's name. Raidou Namiashi.

She only caught a snippet of their one-sided conversation, with Hiruzen instructing him, "—and get her backpack, it's orange, you can't miss it, and don't forget to bring along her stuffed animal, please don't forget it, or she'll kill me. Just leave those items in the hospital room. I'll be there soon enough to retrieve her and bring her back here."

The spiky haired brunette nodded wordlessly, breaking away and forming the well known hand seals for the Shunshin no Justu **(Body Flicker Technique)**, a plume of smoke encasing his entire body. As the smoke disappeared, so did Raidou.

Even though Hiruzen paid no heed to it, Mikoto's gaze lingered to where the young man once stood. Who was _she_? Why was _she_ in the hospital? Mikoto surely hoped whoever this person was recovered soon.

When chocolate brown eyes landed on the Uchiha's they bowed at the waist to the elderly Hokage.

"Why are we here Hokage-sama?" The Uchiha male's monotonous voice asked in a respectful tone.

Hiruzen tore his gaze away from the Uchiha duo and turned to stare out one of colossal window beside his desk. His gaze trained to the Hokage's faces instilled into the mountainside. He stared at one in particular. The Hokage's face to his right. His successor. The Sandaime heaved a heavy sigh, squeezing his eyes shut, wiling himself to gather the strength and courage to carry out this dreadful conversation.

Fugaku along with his wife noticed Hiruzen's sagging shoulders, as if an invisible ten pound weights had been precariously placed upon them.

Hiruzen slowly whipped around, opening his eyes as he looked them over with a hard gaze. Well, it was now or never.

"As you both already know, it has been five years since the Kyuubi Attack, where Minato and Kushina perished…"

At the words leaving his mouth, Mikoto's stomach pulls in tight, like working through a final sit-up. A plethora of questions bounced around in her skull. The most prominent one being, _Why is he reminding us about that? Oh course we know! They were our best friends! Even if Fugaku won't admit it…odd…_

"And as you are aware, Kushina was reported to be nine months pregnant with a child…"

Perhaps it was opposite day, for her blood chilled and turned to ice. Of course Mikoto knew! She was the second person to be told about her best friend's pregnancy, Minato being the first! She was the one that showered Kushina with clothing, along with necessities, tips and tricks. Mikoto was the one who lent an ear when her friend voiced her fears about pregnancy. She was the one who stayed by her side and reassured her that everything would be fine, and how she was making a mountain out of a molehill.

_"__Mikoto…I'm scared…" The redhead admitted in a low tone, a vermillion blush creeping up onto her cheeks as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. _

_"__What? Kushina Uzumaki, scared? Nonsense! The Uzumaki I know isn't called the Red-Hot Blooded Habanero for nothing!" _

_Kushina rolled her eyes at the nickname. She still loathed it, but liked it in a way. It's what made her, well, her. It's what made people fear her._

"Five years ago—"

_"__You have absolutely nothing to fear, Kushina. You're the strongest kunoichi I know. Mind, body and soul." She sweetly replied, still recognizing her best friend's jittery hands. _

_"__B-But what if…what if something goes wrong, Mikoto?" Kushina's voice was barely a whisper. _

"—I said—"

_"__Nothing will go wrong, you're blowing this way out of proportion. I understand your first child is nerve-wracking but you'll have Minato, myself and others at your side, every step of the way." _

_A genuine smile enveloped her face. "Thank you, Mikoto. It means the world to me." _

_It became silent, until a serious look crossed the redhead's face, "Can you promise me something?"_

"—the child had died—"

_The raven haired woman stared back at her friend, never seeing her look so serious before. A small part of Mikoto wished Kushina would've been this serious while they were teens, especially during times of studying for tests. _

_Without even thinking it over, she responded, "Sure." _

_"__I want you to watch over Naruto." _

"—along with Kushina and Minato,—"

_"__W-What?" Mikoto choked out, not quite sure she had heard her best friend correctly. _

_Kushina nodded grimly, confirming what she had just said to be set-in-stone. "Minato is the Hokage now, which means him, along with myself, are susceptible to assassination. Or we could either be killed in the line of duty, which means—"_

_"__Kushina! You will __**not**__ die! You will live to be an old lady, older than Lady Mito Uzumaki. You will become a loving mother to your child, a mother who will teach her child the essentials to life, along with Minato! You will grow very old next to your husband! Don't think for a second otherwise!" Mikoto rambled on intensely, thunderstruck by the mere implication that Kushina thought she'd die. _

_A sad smile flitted across the redhead's face, "Mikoto, you and I both know the ninja world is never bright. So please….please…watch over my child if anything is to happen to Minato and I. You're the only person I can trust with this."_

"—but I'm afraid—"

_Seeing her determined and sincere gaze, Mikoto knew what she had to do, knowing well enough that Kushina would do the exact same for her, "I promise." _

_Her genuine smile once again engulfed her face, stretching from ear to ear. Mikoto vaguely wondered if it hurt. _

_"__I honestly can't wait to have my own little squishy carbon copy!" Kushina's joyous voice excitedly announced, along with a delighted laugh. _

_The Uchiha rolled her irises but smiled affectionately, "I can't wait either. Oh, that reminds me—"_

"—I lied to you, and the village. Her name is—"

_"—__have you and Minato agreed on a name yet?" _

_"__Oh? Yeah! We've decided to name them after the main character in Master Jiraiya's first novel, their name will be—"_

"—Naruto."

All the pieces of the puzzle seemed to stick together, the bits of information wheeling into Mikoto's mind like a yo-yo returning to their master's hand. She could physically feel her heart drop to her stomach. Words seemed to die down in the back of her throat, leaving her unable to comprehend a single word, let alone sentence.

But this couldn't be real, right? Surely it was merely an early April Fools joke. Either that, or it was Mikoto's worst nightmare. Or better yet, a Genjutsu. Yeah, that seemed like a plausible answer.

Shakily, her eyes bore into the village leader, waiting for him to smile and say, "Just kidding," or for her to wake up in this exact moment. She waited for her husband to break the Genjutsu, but he never did. For she already knew there wasn't one.

Mikoto felt hot, unbidden tears gush out of her eyes and run down her cheeks, crashing against the wooden floorboards in little coin sized puddles. Her right hand instinctively slapped over her mouth, as she allowed the pent up grief, regret and pain she'd been holding in for years finally out. Mikoto had never lived a single day since Minato and Kushina's death freely. She was swarmed with guilt, her conscious constantly gnawing at her insides. Killing her slowly from the inside out. It was hard. So extremely difficult to wake up every morning and see your husband alive and well, and have your own children. It was impossible for her to not be furious with herself. She wasn't there for Kushina. And she most certainly wasn't there for Naruto. She had broken her promise.

All strength vanished from her in an instant. Her mental, emotional and physical strength. Due to her immense shock, Mikoto's legs buckled from under her, sending her crashing to the floor. But before she could make impact with the wooden floorboards, her husband stopped her, grasping under her armpits. Mikoto's other hand unconsciously moved on it's own, snaking up to clutch at Fugaku's silk kimono. She dragged him down with her, dragging him all the way down to the floor with her as she dropped to her knees, resting haphazardly on her calves. Fugaku balanced upon his knees as he allowed his wife to bury her face into his chest and sob. He was keenly aware of the tears she shed into his kimono, soaking it, although he tried to suppress it, he grimaced. Fugaku sighed, bringing one hand to rub her back in soothing circles, while his other hand rested over the one grappling onto his chest.

"P-Please if this is a dream or-or even a nightmare…please! Don't wake me up! If…if this is a Genjutsu…please…please," She implored through a fit of sobs, voice muffled by her husband's kimono, "Don't snap me out of it!"

As his wife wailed into his chest, he continued to rhythmically massage her back. It vaguely reminded him of the treatment a doting parental would give to their small child who had just experienced a nightmare. His permanent frown drooped lower, if that was even possible, and he tried to regain control over his own emotions. As a Uchiha, Fugaku wasn't one for showing emotions, like most Uchiha and all other ninja. Yet, even though he knew his wife was more expressive then he'd ever be, even if she wasn't a Uchiha, to bring a woman such as herself to her knees, in tears, was almost as much of a shock to him as the woeful news.

He wanted, no _needed_ to lend her soothing words of strength that would help guide her through this endeavor. But unfortunately, Fugaku himself was too preoccupied at the moment, drowning in his own mini-pit of despair and circulating thoughts.

As much as the Uchiha hated to admit it, even internally, he did miss his rival terribly. No matter how much he tried convincing himself otherwise, in the back of Fugaku's mind he knew how well the position of Hokage befitted Minato. It was more then a sense of knowing, more like a sense of feeling, but in some sort of odd way Fugaku just _felt_ the great things Minato could've offered to the world. He felt it in the very marrow of his bones. And even though Fugaku would make fun of his blond haired rival about his position, he would fight to the death for anyone who dared to oppose him. Throughout the many years of their childhood rivalry, Fugaku begrudgingly developed a bond stronger than rivals. He would never dare to utter that _f-word_ though. The thought of it made him mentally gag. He loathed the very notion of how the blond Hokage wormed his way into Fugaku's small, black and chilled heart. He loathed the very idea of how when he thought back to his frie—rival and his irksome radiant smile that seemed to somehow bring warmth to all those around, make his heart twinge in pain. When Fugaku had first felt this pain, right after Minato's tragic death, he had instantly assumed he was having a heart attack of some sort. It seemed like the most logical outcome, for he had never before felt such excruciating heart pain.

The thought had frightened Fugaku somewhat, not enough to scare him to death though. Not like tantos, those were extremely sharp and dangerous if not wielded properly. Especially if a pubescent teenager were to get his hands on one, and use it incorrectly. That wouldn't be pretty. And most definitely wouldn't end well. But he wasn't called Fugaku Uchiha for nothing. It wasn't just a title, no, surname that could precariously be flaunted. Uchiha, like himself, were as tough, and brave shinobi. Death was a natural occurrence in a ninja's everyday life, whether one was to take a life or give it up. Death was an extremely well-known concept throughout the Uchiha Clan. But anyways, it certainly was concerning that Fugaku was having heart problems at such an early age, as he was in his early thirties at the time of Minato's death. And as any other worried person would do, he went to get a physical examination. To his relief, and annoyance, his results came back in tip-top shape. At the time Fugaku had a tug at the back of his mind, nagging him about how the doctor didn't have his calculations correct. But the doctor was a Uchiha. His judgement wasn't flawed. Couldn't be flawed. That just meant Fugaku would have to begrudgingly put his utmost faith into him. But that didn't explain the odd clenching sensation that encased his heart. When the Clan Head had asked the doctor about it, Fugaku had received a less than pleasing answer.

_Midnight black eyes bore into another set similar to his own. His permanent frown tugged down slightly as the words slid off his tongue with ease, "What do you mean I'm in perfect physical health? Then why does it feel as if I'm experiencing heart palpitations?" _

_The Uchiha male doctor shifted nervously in his plush blue swivel chair in front of his Clan Head. He adverted his eyes from Fugaku's and stared elsewhere around the small room, as if the cream colored walls held the universe's answers. "Well….it most definitely isn't physical health that's causing you harm." _

_Fugaku couldn't help the over-whelming sensation of wanting to roll his irises. _

_The doctor's eyes flashed back to his before he questioned, "Have you recently lost…a loved one? Like Lord—"_

_He was cut off by the Clan Head's intense glare. Fugaku wasn't stupid, he knew what the doctor was prodding at, and he wouldn't allow him to say the last word. Lord Fourth. Minato Namikaze. His __**rival**__. The thought of the deceased blond Hokage brought forth a pang of grueling pain that scraped against his heart. It was in that moment Fugaku put two and two together. It was his friend's—Fugaku shook his head back in forth, correcting himself, his __**rival's**__ death that was causing him such great pain. He refused to believe it. He refused to believe the death of his rival had such an emotional toll on him that it was causing him physical pain. _

_The doctor smiled sadly towards the denial man, knowing himself the ache of losing one close to you._

Mikoto's deafening sobbing seemed to be slow down until it reached a subtle, weak mewling. She tore her head away from her husband's chest, gazed up to him and…smiled. A precarious smile, that tried to uphold the grace and beauty she naturally executed. Saturated deep within it was euphoria. Genuine bliss took over her features, smoothing out her face.

"Did you hear that, honey? She's alive…Naruto's alive! Our friend's child _survived_!" Her words came out choppy, which were barely audible through her immense sniffling. It appeared as if in that moment she had tossed grace and elegance out the window. Even though Fugaku had never seen this side of his wife, nor did he ever want to see this side ever again, it was an unbearable sight that rendered him useless. It was times like these where the Uchiha severely wished he didn't lack in social skills and could help his wife through this like any other husband.

"I can't believe Naruto's really alive! I can't wait to meet her! I can't wait to—" The Uchiha matriarch stopped short, clipping off her statement as if a rather obvious thought had broken through her thought process. She clambered up to her feet in an instant, surprising her husband as her attitude did a complete shift. As Fugaku himself stood up to regain his position directly side-by-side his wife, he noticed Mikoto developed a defensive pose as she brandished an accusing finger in the direction of the withering village leader.

"Hokage-sama! Your position may require sacrifice for the village," Mikoto's words were steady, but rumbled with concealed rage. "But what benefit did such a lie bring! Are we not capable shinobi?! Certainly caring for a child would be nothing compared to what we've been through! Did you underestimate my capabilities as a mother? —That I wouldn't be able to take care of her?!"

Her chest was heaving at the end of her tirade as her eyes widened a fraction, realizing exactly what she had just said, and who she had just said it to. "Forgive me, it appears I have said too much," Her eyes danced in dark amusement before she spat, "Hokage-sama."

Fugaku gazed over to the woman he married, internally he was beyond surprised by her rash actions. She was usually so reserved and gentle, even when it came to matters she disagreed in, she _never_ openly displayed her displeasure. He had never seen such a side of her. And he had to admit, he rather liked it. A woman who could take charge. The perfect Uchiha mistress. Fugaku honestly couldn't ask for a better wife. However, he would have to save his musing and proud smirk for later, right now wasn't the best moment for praise.

Mikoto radiated a spine-chilling aura. A dash of Killer Intent leaked into it as well, mixing in like a murderous cake. It would be served up…cold. With no milk. And like the metaphorical cake, Hiruzen choked on her harsh aura. Hiruzen knew all too well, shown through his ex-wife Biwako, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Collecting his thoughts and gathering his bearings, Lord Third spoke up after what felt like forever, "There's a plausible explanation, Mikoto-san!"

Mikoto clenched the hands that hung loosely at her sides into fists. Clench, unclench, clench, unclench. "What could possible be a rational answer to your decision?"

Hiruzen sighed at the female Uchiha that stood before him. "I thought it was best not to allow you to adopt Naruto. Not because I question your parenting, or your strength. I just…" The Sandaime squeezed his painfully eyes shut once more, forming the correct words in his mouth, "I didn't want to subject you to the evils within Naruto."

The words her brain was formulating, like her confidence, faded into confusion. Mikoto's confidence was completely shaken at this point. She didn't think it would be coming back anytime soon. "Evils within… What exactly do you mean Hokage-sama? Are you accusing Naruto of being evil?"

Hiruzen's eyes snapped open immediately, "Of course not! Naruto isn't evil, no, not one bit! She wouldn't hurt a fly without feeling guilty, and most likely she'd cry about it. It is what delves _within_ Naruto that is the very form of evil."

Mikoto stood, dumbstruck. What could he possibly be talking about? If the girl wasn't evil herself...

Her onyx eyes migrated towards her husband, and once their eyes connected he subtly shook his head, signaling that he hadn't the slightest clue either. Her gaze racketed back to the elder Hokage.

"It appears that my successor, and your friend, Minato, has committed the ultimate taboo," He delicately laid out, allowing the words to waft around the office. He forced out a pitiful, barren laugh. The laugh, if one could label it as that, vaguely reminded Mikoto of sandpaper scraping together, an unnerving sound that caused goosebumps to bloom up and down her arms.

"As both of you are aware…while Kushina was still…_alive_…" He swallowed hard, as if the word was foreign to Hiruzen, making it devastatingly hard to pronounce.

"Since she was an adolescent teenager, she was destined to become a demon container, due to her special Uzumaki chakra. The proper term I have found to be more respectable and politically correct is a Jinchuuriki. Within her, she bravely jailed the Kyuubi, a name I presume you both are familiar with?"

At the mention of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Mikoto's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. The Uchiha Clan, like every other Clan in Konoha, had devastatingly lost copious amounts of clansmen and clanswomen. Actually, regardless of whether an individual belonged to a Clan or not, or even if they were a shinobi or weren't a shinobi, everyone in the village had lost loved ones that night.

Mikoto did not like the direction this conversation was heading towards.

"When a Jinchuuriki goes into labor, the seal that keeps the Tailed Beast within them, weakens. During the time of Kushina's labor, Minato was holding up a barrier to keep the seal strong. That is, until a mysterious Masked Man attacked and somehow released the Kyuubi, just seconds after Naruto was born. That was why the Kyuubi appeared that night. Minato bravely left to fight the Demon Fox head on," As he sighed, it appeared as if an additional ten years had been added to his features, "However…there is a twist in the tale that everyone in the village doesn't know. Lord Fourth couldn't seal the Kyuubi, it held within it unfathomable amounts of chakra. Eventually through a continuous fight against the Masked Man, along with the Nine Tails, Minato and Kushina heroically laid down their lives to save the village, by sealing the greatest of all Biju, inside their only child."

Hiruzen chose to ignore the sharp intake of breath from the Uchiha woman and continued before his emotions got the best of him, "Naruto was the only one capable of the sealing. Minato didn't want to sacrifice any other citizen, and Naruto had Kushina's special Uzumaki chakra flowing through her veins. Also, seeing as Naruto was just born, her chakra coils were acutely undeveloped. She was the only one in the village at the time that could have handled the Kyuubi's immense power. The burden they weighed down on their child saved our, and everyone in the village's lives. If Naruto wasn't there in that moment in time…the village wouldn't currently be standing here. She saved Konohagakure, and was to be regarded as a hero. A hero who saved us all. However, the Yondaime requested that I not reveal Naruto's lineage until her sixteenth birthday, however certain _incidents_ arose that forced me into this situation.

The Sandaime Hokage paused, allowing the woeful information to sink into their brains. It was dead silent. If a pin were to drop onto the floor, it would be the equivalence of an earthquake.

She blinked. Once. Twice. A few more times. Then the projected, and awaited, outburst rang out, "Minato didn't!"

She received no response from the leader, she didn't really expect one; although it would have been better then the deafening silence.

"That idiot! I'll resurrect him, just so I can slap him over the head!" Mikoto raged, slapping down the pieces of the puzzle so they clasped together. The plot hole's in the story surrounding the Kyuubi were finally becoming clear. Her immense anger was once again refueled, and seemed to seep out of her and into the air.

Before she could open her mouth once more to berate Hiruzen, her husband's voice sternly shot out, "Mikoto."

Her eyes rapidly migrated towards her husband. Fugaku's arms were tightly woven across his broad chest, as his midnight eyes gazed past her and out the Hokage's window, eyes locked hard on a certain Hokage's carved mountain face. He was steadily growing increasingly annoyed; anger bubbling to the surface at his own perceived ignorance.

_You idiotic blond…_ He mentally growled, not holding animosity towards blonde haired people, just this one oaf in particular. Fugaku somewhat fully understood the Yondaime's intentions, having been flung into an unfathomable situation that no one could have prepared for. But even if he did understand Minato's circumstances, he didn't wholeheartedly agree with him. Fugaku couldn't picture himself committing the ultimate taboo, like his idiotic rival. To put that humongous, malicious Demon Fox inside your own child. Your own _kin_. It was like the equivalence of bestowing life upon an infant, then before the infant can take the life you had given it, you yank it from right under them! Fugaku might be callous, but even he had morals. It might be hard to believe, but it was true.

A crystal clear image of a black haired infant wailing at the top of his lungs painted itself into Fugaku's mind. The Uchiha Clan's second heir, and his second son, Sasuke. The definite image cased the corners of his lips to sag down further in self evident disgust. A nagging voice spoken with perfect succinct located in a narrow crevice in the back of his mind kept insisting to him, calling out to him like an internal mantra. It told him with perfect clarity that he would have done things _right_, unlike Minato. He would've altered history for the better. In order to ensure the freedom of his son, Fugaku would have allowed the gigantic Fox to strike it's mighty paws and lush tails upon the village. He would have allowed it to deconstruct the entire village if it ensured his son to live a normal, care-free life. Why risk his son's, along with his own life for the sake of a pathetic village full of even more pathetic people? In that situation, the Uchiha Clan could have relocated to another village. Possibly even seize control over that particular village. A whole village dedicated and populated entirely out of Uchiha. A whole village run only by a single Uchiha leader.

Before the Clan Head had the chance to quirk his lips up into a smirk at his own genius daydreams, Hiruzen broke through, "Naruto was admitted into the hospital last night, she appeared to be in critical condition."

"W-Why is she in the hospital?" She replied, nearly tripping over her words.

~Flashback~

A dilapidated and extremely run-down building came into view. It was a surprise the building was still in one piece and actually standing, even if the Nine Tails hadn't attacked in this direction. A rusting sign hung up by a single bolt read _Konoha Orphanage_. The words were terribly faded, and could only be deciphered if you squinted to the point of nearly closing your eyelids altogether.

Hiruzen shook his head in displeasure, vowing to renovate the whole orphanage from top to bottom after he took care of the rest of the village.

As the Hokage trekked up the chipped concrete steps, he shifted the bundle of blankets in his arms into a more comfortable position.

When he deemed it acceptable, he shot out his other hand, rapping his knuckles on the wooden door that was nearly falling off it's hinges. It first went unheard, due to the high-pitched screaming of playing children from inside the building. Hiruzen was somewhat envious of their childish ignorance, he wondered if any of the children knew exactly what had unfolded tonight. If any had heard the blood-curdling screams of individuals, or the ferocious roars that could've been heard from villages away. They couldn't possibly not known these things, right? It just served to prove how fast children were able to bounce back, he supposed. Soon enough however, the children's joyous shouts were soon drowned out by callous shouts, which were carried out in a less-then-kind voice. It made Hiruzen internally wince. The voice was almost as worse as his wife. Almost.

A plump, disgruntled-looking, hippo-woman flung the door wide open, her expression miffed until she realized exactly who was at the door. Upon realizing the unexpected visitor before her was indeed the village leader, the shocked whale-like-lady hurriedly plucked a cancer stick, also known as a cigarette, from between crayon-like lipstick lips. It looked like one of the young orphans applied her ruby red lipstick, and was most likely half asleep while doing it, and was in a hurry because they had to potty. She foolishly flung the still lit cigarette behind her, into the still opened door and into the orphanage.

The ear shattering scream of, "MY EYES! IT BURNS!" reverberated throughout the entire orphanage, making the elder Hokage cringe in sympathy.

He looked doubtfully down to the blonde haired child in the bundle of tightly-woven blankets, that lay securely in his arms. Hiruzen was beginning to doubt this decision. After gazing down at his successor's daughter, his chocolate brown eyes eventually trailed back up to the intricate _woman_ before him.

Hiruzen's eyes kept lingering on the atrocious balloon-sized mole near her hairy mustache-like lips. The one thickly curled hair that protruded out of the black lump of skin made shivers run down the village leader's spine. He tore his eyes away from the eyesore mole and plastered on a seemingly real smile, "Mrs. Molinda, lovely to see you again, not under the best of circumstances, I'm afraid."

She resisted the urge to roll her murky brown eyes. "Enough with the sweet-talk Hokage-sama, what are you here for? To dump another child on us? For the one thousandth time tonight? All these damn brats do is keep crying their eyes out! They don't even know how things work around here. We have a system here at the orphanage, Hokage-sama. System!"

Hiruzen stared at this sad excuse for a woman before him, aghast. Had she no reservation? Or wit? Why say such things in front of the _Hokage_? Perhaps it was because at this point in the game Mrs. Molinda honestly didn't care anymore. But still…all the children that had been brought here tonight had lost their parents, or siblings, or any other form of family. They had every right to be devastated. Hiruzen filed away a mental note stating how the orphanage was in need of a new patron, who was everything Mrs. Molinda was not. But that would have to wait, right now he had more important matters to attend to.

"Iruka….Uno? Like the dumb card game?" Mrs. Molinda said, trying to rack her pea sized brain for the child's surname, "The damn dolphin brat was wailing so hard about his dead parents that he couldn't see, and dropped all the good plates! He was lucky one of the other wardens held me back from teaching him a _lesson_."

At this point in the so-called-conversation, Hiruzen was too appalled to possible spare a few words. His grip tightened protectively around the infant, not wanting to give her up anymore. But where would she go? She couldn't possibly stay with him…

The ogre pointed a meaty finger in the direction of Naruto, "Are you going to hand it over, or what?"

The Hokage stared at her, dumbfounded, until he snapped back to reality. He loosened his grip on the child and said, "Her name is Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes once more. Mrs. Molinda then held her hands out, waiting for the newly re-inaugurated Hokage to hand over the sleeping infant. Begrudgingly he did so.

The orphanage patron hooked a finger in the blankets, tearing the fabric back to catch a quick glimpse of the infant. Her lips tugged down in disgust at the child. Whether it was Naruto herself or the fact that Naruto was a new addition to the orphanage, Hiruzen had no idea. He surely hoped it was the latter.

"Well, goodnight Hiruzen, hopefully this is the last runt for the night."

Hiruzen fought a world war within himself, before one side finally won. He decided to tell the patron before she stalked off, "There's something vital you should know about that child!"

"What now? Is the child allergic to a certain formula? Or doesn't agree with a certain brand of diapers?"

The patron's overly sarcastic remarks were beginning to tick off the Sarutobi. He was a relatively patient man, but her blatant disrespect was infuriating. A man in his high position deserved the utmost respect.

"It's hard to believe… But what I am about to tell you is S-rank classified information. What I am about to tell you is _not_ to be repeated, do you understand?" His eyes were set hard as he stared at her, daring her to refuse. And even though she was a civilian, she knew the importance of the term _S-rank. _

Visibly she swallowed hard and nodded, "I understand."

"That child, Naruto, is a Jinchuuriki, which means she holds a…demon…within her. The same demon that attacked the village tonight."

As soon as the vital words had left his mouth, a chilling silence overtook them.

At first Mrs. Molinda was in a state of heavy denial. She forced her brain into making her believe the Sarutobi was sadistically pulling a prank on her. Perhaps for regarding him with such disrespect earlier? But he couldn't be! Not after he made her vow not to tell another living soul. And those deadly serious eyes…

The second she snapped to attention, Mrs. Molinda nearly dropped the sleeping newborn onto the concrete steps below. She quickly regained herself along with her grip on the blonde infant. She extended her hands out once more, as if restraining herself from throwing the child back to the Hokage.

"T-Take this demon child back! I don't want it! Nor will anyone else! You're better off just murdering the thing! Unless it'll revert back to it's demonic tendencies and wreck havoc to the village once more!"

Hiruzen's eyes widened for a split second as he processed exactly what she had just said, then his chakra flared up as boiling hot anger overtook every fiber of his being. Even if she was a civilian and couldn't sense chakra like ninja, she was aware of the line she had just crossed.

"Naruto is _not_ a _demon!_ She is a normal child, and will be regarded as one! You are to treat her like the other children within this establishment! With respect, not animosity! Are we clear, Mrs. Molinda?"

A low, begrudging voice replied, "Crystal."

He nodded, establishing his self-control once more. "Good. I will be visiting every once in a while to check up on her. Please do keep in mind of your side of the deal Mrs. Molinda. Along with not spreading this information to others, Naruto herself will also be unaware of this."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved off, not really listening to a word he said.

Hiruzen stared at the child in her arms once more, before sighing and turning on his heel to make his exit.

As Mrs. Molinda turned into the doorway with her back towards the Hokage, he was ignorant to the unmerciful smile that adorned her lips as she stared down to the Uzumaki. He was unaware of the pain the Tailed Fox had brought to Mrs. Molinda, and blind to the pain she would soon bring to Naruto in the near distant future.

~Flashback End~

"I'm afraid…somehow civilians have discovered Naruto's Jinchuuriki status and…"

Mikoto's eyes widened as his voice grew small and trailed off for the umpteenth time. Her mind then came up with the worse possible case scenario. She steeled herself for the worse, and with a heavy heart made fullmetal, she asked, "A-And what, Hokage-sama?"

"Naruto was…assaulted." Hiruzen begrudgingly admitted.

Mikoto just stared at Hiruzen, words escaping her. Delicate fingers ran through her charcoal black hair, the overwhelming sense of lightheadedness soon taking over.

"It's suspected that the perpetuators were more then one male, and undoubtedly civilian, for a shinobi wouldn't have let her...live..."

It was at this point that Fugaku's expressionless resolve cracked. He was trying to remain unflappable, but he couldn't help the anger that seeped out of him. His left hand seemed to linger near his left pant's pocket, where Mikoto knew he kept an emergency kunai in. "What are the names of these men?"

Hiruzen's chocolate brown eyes snapped back to the Uchiha, they widened in shock as Fugaku's usual levelheadedness shrunk away.

To say the Hokage was surprised was the understatement of the century. His malicious words were accompanied by a dark tone of voice, that left Hiruzen suppressing the urge to jump out the window. And from what the Sarutobi knew, Fugaku was usually calm and relaxed, but now he was a bit irritated. He couldn't blame him for that. As he too, was very displeased with the villagers.

"That information hasn't been obtained yet, but I assure you Uchiha-san, the best operatives are working on the case."

A boiling hot lava-like anger ignited within Mikoto once more. It started in the pit of her stomach, pooling all the way throughout her entire being. The feeling vaguely reminded her of the fireball jutsu.

A bitter taste lingered in the back of her throat, as if she just swallowed a spoonful of cough medicine. By the end of this _meeting_ Mikoto was positive her stomach would turn on her and spew out the contents from within.

What type of ruthless human being would dare to lay a hand on a five year old, with the intent to kill?

Even during the years of Mikoto being a kunoichi, when she had been assigned missions to assinate individuals, she would never _ever_ accept missions that involved killing a child. Regardless of how handsomely the job paid.

Soon enough Mikoto asked in a small voice, which was new for the woman, "C-Can we…can we visit her? In the hospital?"

"Certainly, but first I would like to discuss the next order of business," Hiruzen smiled for the first time since the meeting had started, "I trust no other Clan with this, and sadly at this point in time I am more then desperate… Would you be willing to adopt Naruto?"

The Uchiha matriarch was steadfast with her decision, "Yes! Of course!"

Quickly realizing her mistake, she hurriedly corrected herself, "Of course, Hokage-sama. It would be an honor to adopt Minato and Kushina's daughter."

Before the Sarutobi could respond Fugaku's voice broke through, "Mikoto,"

Said person's eyes migrated to her husband, giving him her full attention.

"Do not get ahead of yourself, think this through logically. That kid has the Kyuubi inside of her—"

Ticked off by the comment _that kid_, Mikoto did something she'd never done before, talked back to her husband, "As did Kushina! And—"

Keeping his voice level, unlike his wife, he butted in, "Take into consideration Kushina's age at the time. Thirteen, and a shionbi in training, not a five year old, besides—"

"I don't care how old she is! She's something Kushina and Minato thought was worth protecting. They protected her to the very end! And just like our children, I vow to do the very same thing!"

As both Uchiha grew silent, Mikoto did yet another thing she'd never done to her husband before, she glared at him. Hard. It wasn't an inane need. She knew she just _had_ to adopt Naruto.

A sly smile then adorned her lips, "Besides…I've always wanted a daughter. Something you could never provide for me."

_Ooooooh, that burn was worse then the Uchiha's fireball jutsu!_ Hiruzen thought with an amused smirk on his aging face, his eyes flashed hurriedly between the quarreling couple. Fugaku's face went through a metamorphosis. First his features scrunched up ever so slightly in embarrassment, then consideration, then of course, its final form being apathetic. The Hokage coughed into his fist, attempting to smother out his chortles of laughter. Fugaku grunted in displeasure.

"I will hear no more of your squabbling mister, nor will I take any negotiations. And if you don't agree to my terms, Fugaku, I _swear_ I will **_not_** being doing the cooking! Or the laundry!"

Fugaku's eyes widened a fraction as he stared at his wife, in shock. She couldn't be serious…could she? The vicarious smirk plastered on her face was self-evident.

Fugaku could effortlessly murder several ninja in the blink of an eye, but he couldn't no where near make anything remotely close to scrambled eggs, without of course burning the whole Uchiha Compound to the ground. Talk about a Uchiha Massacre. That certainly wouldn't be good. 10,000 years of trauma all around. He prayed his children did not carry this lack of culinary skills like him. It was too bad that Itachi was like him in more then just appearances.

Just then, a monstrous pile of dirty clothes flashed before Fugaku's eyes, and he felt himself internally crumbling. He shivered mentally, he'd rather be stabbed through the heart then deal with that.

An audible sigh elicited from his lips, feeling resigned. It was times like these where he fully realized just how useless he was without his wife. He knew his wife was adamant on adopting his rival's daughter, Naruto. And Fugaku had to accept the fact that there was no arguing with her, that he would just be wasting his breath and would lead him absolutely no where. This was the one argument she'd truly been declared victor in.

His response was a low grunt. "Fine."

A beatific smile manifested on her face. It was smiles like these that Fugaku lived for. Shaking away that string of thoughts before they got too mushy, Fugaku turned back to the now smiling Hokage.

"I will go retrieve her, and for now don't worry about the adoption papers. I will have them sent to your residence later this week."

Even as the Hokage left the duo behind, Mikoto's excited smile never left her face.

**~XxX~**

When he entered Naruto's hospital room, she didn't even bother turning to look at her grandfather-like figure, instead too invested with the open window near the bed. At the foot of the door was Naruto's faded orange backpack and her stuffed animal. It appeared as if Raidou had just dumped it there without a word, choosing not to engage with the child. Hiruzen internally sighed at the depressing thought.

It wasn't until the Sandaime Hokage was close enough to her to see that Naruto was watching a nest full of a little birdie family. Two parents and their hatchling, which the mother was feeding wriggling pink worm. She had a heart-clenching look of forlorn that burned brightly in her eyes. It wasn't until Hiruzen stepped forth once more, making his presence obvious, that she snapped to attention. Her previous depressed look morphed into a look of genuine happiness.

"Jiji! Man, am I glad to see you! There was this guy here before, he crept in and didn't even say a word, he didn't even look at me! But you wanna know what's even weirder? He he had my stuff! From the orphanage! Can you believe that? I think he stole it! But why would a thief return my belongings?" She seemed too chipper in his opinion, but he didn't question it and brushed it off as nothing.

"The gentlemen you are referring to is one of my personal bodyguards, Raidou. I ordered him to retrieve your belongings and bring them here."

Her confused expression cleared. "Oh," then a thoughtful one replaced it, "Will I get the chance to meet him?"

"Someday, but not today Naruto." As soon as the words let his mouth, the blonde's face fell. "But I have good news."

Her face snapped up to him, "What is it? Huh! Huh! Is it ramen? I hope so, I'm starving!"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but looked down to her with a warm smile, "Better than ramen."

"What could be better then ramen? I don't think anything's better then ramen. I think you're lying! Jiji why would you—"

"I have found a suitable family that would love to adopt you."

Her ramblings chopped off, leaving her in silence. Naruto ran the words through her head once, twice, then a third time just to be triple sure. To make sure she wasn't hearing things.

It was as if Hiruzen had just told her the greatest news of her life. Thinking about it further, Hiruzen realized it was the only good news she'd ever received.

She turned to him, eyes alit with excitement. It made the Sarutobi's smile widen. But just as quickly as that excitement entered her eyes, it vanished.

Her previous euphoric aura now reeked of despair…

"Will they...do what...those people did to me?" Naruto asked, voice shaky.

A jolt of electricity ran up from his feet through his entire body. The energy shocked Hiruzen to the core.

He, like any sensible person, understood the circumstances she had just been thrown into the previous night, and just how traumatic it most be for her. But did Naruto really think Hiruzen would just leave her with people that would treat her like that? Did Naruto no longer trust him? Guilt flowed through him. Perhaps she didn't trust him because…because Hiruzen wasn't there to save her in her time of need. He wasn't there to hear her desperate pleas for help.

"Naruto...I wouldn't just dump you off with random strangers with impure intentions." He inwardly winced, knowing that's exactly what he did when he left her at the orphanage five years ago.

Naruto wasn't convinced, but the Hokage sounded so sure of himself that she couldn't help but become just a little bit optimistic. Even though she had her doubts that weighed down heavily on her mind, she gave him a reassuring smile.

"I can't wait to meet them. Oh! Wait! I gotta get dressed if I'm going to meet my new…family…" She hurriedly spewed out, the last word feeling odd on her tongue. She pushed herself off the bed, securely placing her stuffed animal on the bed as she swiped up her backpack and ran into the bathroom to get changed.

It wasn't long before the blonde reemerged, clad in her usual boyish attire. She wore a snow white short-sleeved shirt with a crimson Uzumaki swirl on the back, not that she knew what the symbol meant, along with pitch black shorts and shinobi sandals to match.

She surged past him, not before throwing her hospital gown at him because she didn't know how to fold clothing yet, and threw the worn-out orange backpack on the bed. Naruto's hands scavenged around in, until she found the contents she wanted. She whipped out a blue brush and two orange hair ties. She was pleased to see these ones were actually clean, not dirty like the medic had told her previously; explaining as to why she had to throw Naruto's other ones out. Naruto held up the brush in her left hand, and the hair ties in her right. She stared up to the Sarutobi and smiled, "Help me?"

Hiruzen's only response was a sigh, but not out of agitation. He put the now folded hospital gown on the bed, and took the items from the young girl. He brushed back her hair, which left Naruto to conceal her winces as he raked through knots, she knew he didn't have any daughters and didn't want to make him feel bad. Usually her hair was particularly easy to comb through, but she hadn't brushed it in couple days. Naruto could feel Hiruzen fumbling slightly, attempting to keep the pesky hair in place long enough for him to tie it up. It took a boat load of self-control for her not to laugh. A feat not easily achieved. A curse or two, or possibly even three, slipped from him, but it was hard to make out exactly what he was saying, seeing as he whispered it under his breath. When Hiruzen finished, Naruto could tell the pigtails weren't as tightly held in place, not the way she liked it. But the fact that her grandfather-like figure had assembled her hair made up for it. In her eyes, even if there was flaws, they were outshone by that fact alone. They were perfect. She wouldn't have them any other way.

Naruto soon precariously stuffed her brush back into the depths of her backpack, and slipped her arms through the backpack's shoulder straps. She then snatched up her stuffed animal from off the bed, and securely held it in place in her right hand.

Hiruzen extended a single wrinkled hand towards the youth.

"Are you ready, Naruto?"

"Yes."

**~XxX~**

Worry bubbled inside of her as she passed Hiruzen's personal secretary. Unbeknownst to the elder man, his secretary sneered condescendingly in Naruto's direction, when Naruto had turned to look back at her. At the disgusted look, Naruto whipped back around, eyes focusing on the hallway in front of them. Naruto wondered if Hiruzen could feel her hand growing clammy. Obviously he could, he couldn't be _that_ oblivious. Even so, he never tore his hand away from hers.

As the passed the long corridor that lead to Hiruzen's office, her eyes roamed over the plethora of framed photos. Most, of course, were male shinobi, but there was a pocketful of females. Naruto's overwhelming sense of nervousness kept her eyes from lingering too long. She mentally noted to ask Hiruzen about all of them in the future. Before she could tear her gaze away from the quickly passing walls, her eyes shot to one particular framed image. The hue of his hair caught her by surprise. It was the same color as—

"We're here."

Her head snapped around so fast an audible _crack_ was heard. Crystalline blue eyes stared to the bronze doors before her. Naruto swallowed the ball of saliva and nervousness that clung in her throat. She had only been in the Third Hokage's office on a few accounts, she could count the times on one hand. But this time was different. This time would change her life forever.

A plethora of questions bounced around in her skull, making her slightly dizzy. _What if they don't like me? Like everyone else? What if they give me __**those eyes?**__ What if they hate the color orange?! Or what if they can't stand blondes? What if they're cannibals and like like little blonde girls? What if…I'm not what they're expecting… What if they chose wrong and later regret it? Will they just throw me out to the curb like trash? Like Mrs. Molinda at the orphanage?_

Before panic could spread throughout her, Hiruzen did the worse possible thing in that moment. He. Opened. The. _Door! _

Naruto wanted to shout at the village leader, to abruptly slam the door shut, turn on her heel and hightail it out of there. But unfortunately for the small child, Hiruzen had different plans. He wordlessly ushered her forward, as if telepathically reading her thoughts.

Her corner of her lips tugged down, sometimes the old git was too smart for his own good.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, two figures turned simultaneously, one male and one female. In Naruto's eyes the woman who stood before her was the very epitome of pulchritudinous. She had flawless fair-skin, with long, straight black hair. Her long bangs split down in the middle, leaving her bangs to hang on both sides of her face, which helped to frame her face nicely. And just like the man next to her, she had eyes as dark as the night sky. And even though this woman's attire would be considered dreadfully boring, and categorized under "the housewife look", she seemed to work it quite well. Her outfit consisted of a simple dark blouse with a red-plum skirt along with a light-yellow apron worn over it.

Naruto had to muster up every ounce of self-control to not have her jaw drop to the floor. In all honesty, Naruto was envious of the elegance she smeed to just...radiate. The man next to her on the other hand…

He had an imposing presence. Long, regal eyebrows. Straight, arrogant nose. Sharp, powerful jawline.

The hardened eyes of a king.

Naruto looked away, unable to endure his piercing dark eyes any longer.

Naruto's eyes flashed back to the woman, who was staring at her as if she was a science experiment starting to bubble over the side of the beaker. Naruto's stomach turned over, like eggs being flipped. Her bright blue eyes widened as she froze on the spot. She stood completely still, feeling their scrutinizing stare.

Mikoto couldn't help but inwardly gush at her deceased friend's daughter. Naruto was absolutely adorable! She was like a mini-carbon copy of Minato, which was a bit scary. She held most, if not every detail of his physical features, even his radiant blue eyes. Although, from the look of her cute little pigtails, her hair, like Kushina's, was pin straight. And another feature that resembled Kushina greatly, was her chubby cheeks. Mikoto had the urge to pinch them. But the odd whisker-like markings on her cheeks were astonishing. Perhaps it was from the Kyuubi? Another detail that was surprising was just how exceptionally small she was, perhaps too small for her age. She hoped with time she'd grow out of it, along with her tomboyish attire.

Fugaku inwardly scoffed at the irony of the stuffed animal she held in her right hand. A worn out, rust-colored fox, with a single black button eye.

It was in that moment Mikoto felt something in her chest sink. It was as if she were staring at a complete stranger.

Midnight eyes widened for the shortest of moments at the thought, before her composure regained itself. Her soft, tender voice then spoke out, "Naruto."

Said child responded by nodding stiffly, before offering the woman a wobbly smile. It felt terrible fake to Naruto, but she sincerely hoped the woman in front of her wouldn't notice. In that moment, Mikoto felt the overwhelming impulse to help her.

Perhaps that impulse was too strong, most likely due to her overwhelmingly intense Uchiha love that could start wars, because before she could stop her legs, she rushed forward and flung her arms around the exceptionally small child. At the unexpected and foreign gesture, Naruto stiffed; rivaling a plank of wood. For a fleeting moment Fugaku saw pain in her eyes as he looked at the spectacle.

Instantly noticing her cutoff response, Mikoto abruptly stood up, arms at her sides. She cleared her throat awkwardly, averting her eyes from Naruto's. "Sorry. But…I'm Mikoto, and that's my husband, Fugaku. We'll be adopting you, if you're okay with that?"

Naruto was still frozen in place, unable to comprehend exactly _what_ had just happened. Dumbly, she turned to Hiruzen, who didn't exactly help her much either. His only response was the nod of the head.

_Thanks Jiji…you're a lifesaver…._

Naruto didn't tear her gaze away from the leader, in all honestly she didn't know what to say these people. Her new _adoptive_ parents _Mikoto_ and _Fugaku_. Naruto thought Mikoto was more approachable and easier to connect or talk with, rather then her stony husband. But that didn't mean Naruto wasn't trepidatious of them or their intentions. Just because they showed a face of kindness in front of the Hokage didn't mean their demeanors couldn't change when they were alone.

Hiruzen bent down, a knee against the ground as he stared directly into her eyes. Brown clashed with blue. "Naruto, you're going to be staying with Mikoto and Fugaku for awhile, okay?"

Not being able to find her voice, she stiffly nodded once more. It was funny, in a way. Naruto had always dreamed, or begged, for this very moment, for a caring family to adopt her and take her out of the Hell that was the orphanage. But now that it was actually happening, Naruto wasn't as excited as she thought she'd be. She was more on edge now. Trepidatious.

"Good," a large smile, "Visit anytime. And be good, Naruto."

When the older man spread open his arms, Naruto dived into them, hugging him tightly as a few tears welled up in her eyes. Mikoto watched with a twinge of jealously. She yearned for that reaction, but she knew Naruto needed her own space. And the fact that Mikoto _was_ still a stranger didn't help the situation much either.

The embrace had been cut too short in Naruto's opinion. She felt the need to cling to her grandfather-like figure for longer, perhaps beg him not to dump her with these people, but she didn't. Just like him, she too unattached from him and backed up, smiled sadly and bid her own farewell.

**~XxX~**

During their awkward walk, Naruto had no clue where they were going, Mikoto turned around her and smiled to Naruto, saying, "I hope you don't mind Naruto, but you're not the only child we have. Our two sons, Itachi and Sasuke, also live with us. My little Sasu-chan is your age, I think you two will get along swell."

When she turned back around, Naruto gazed at both of their backs. How come she wasn't provided with this information earlier?

Soon enough, the trio halted before a towering steel gate. To say it was daunting was the understatement of the century. Where were they bringing her to? A prison? Her radiant eyes flickered left and right, debating which direction she should run in. During her panicky search her eyes halted at the spotless, gigantic symbol plastered on the metal bars. She wasn't quite sure what it _was_ exactly. It was almost like a circle, the top half a crimson red, the bottom a snowy white. But it wasn't a perfect circle, a stick of white extended from the bottom. Almost…like a fan.

Noticing her stare, Mikoto explained with a proud smile, "That's our Clan's symbol. It signifies us, the Uchiha."

Naruto stared, dumbfounded. She knew _of _Clans. But she wasn't too keen on the whole concept. The only basic knowledge she held regarding Clans was there were Clan Heads. The Clan Head's job was an important one, to keep the Clan functioning. Hiruzen was the Head of the Sarutobi Clan. The blonde wondered if she'd meet the Uchiha's Clan Head one day.

The gates opened with a grating screech that made Naruto cringe. In her opinion, having over-sensitive hearing was more like a curse than a gift.

As they entered the Compound, they passed the male gate guards, who gazed down hard at the blonde child, astonished. They then quickly gathered their bearings and fumbled slightly to tip their heads in trained respect. Naruto stared with wide eyes, fumbling to nod back, not really knowing what to do in this type of situation.

_Why were they even nodding in the first place? Is it a customary thing in the Uchiha Clan?_

The male Uchiha in front of Naruto had taken to equipping a regal type of walk, Fugaku with a head held high, shoulders squared back as he stared straight ahead, hard eyes not daring to astray. However, from next to him his wife hadn't developed any type of different walk or stance. She walked as she normally did; with perfectly straight posture and elegance. Unlike her spouse, she looked to her fellow clansmen and women, and offered a wave or lent a kind smile.

As the trio stalked through the Compound, individuals that held a striking resemblance to Mikoto and Fugaku displayed similar reactions just like that of the guards. Most openly displayed shock, but only for a split second, then fumbled to quickly regain their outward appearance and bowed respectfully. However, a considerable amount of _Uchiha_ would sneer at her once they were out of the boundaries of Mikoto's and Fugaku's sight. Saying Naruto was uncomfortable with the treatment she was receiving would be the understatement of the century. She especially didn't appreciate when some would snicker at her failed attempts at bowing back.

Clearing her head of the looks and odd treatment, she closed her eyes and evaluated her surroundings. The faint scent of fresh baked bread filled her nostrils, seeping into her brain, leaving her wanting a piece. The scent of a flowery-like perfume also entered her field of smell. Snapping her eyes open, her head shifted all around her.

It was _so_ much to take in. There was just too much! Countless buildings were in this Compound, it made Naruto wonder how many people actually lived here. It was almost like a mini village of it's own, in the village of Konohagakure.

Along the narrow dirt path that seemed to go on forever, there was a decrepit, dilapidated house that seemed to attract Naruto to it. It was almost like a magnet, causing her to halt her steps and stare at it, drawing her in. From the small house's outward appearance, it appeared to be abandoned and severely neglected. The lawn was past due on it's appointment of a proper mowing. Sickly green weeds kept over the concrete walkway that lead to the house's front door. A small, pitiful garden appeared to have plants with sickly dried brown leaves, rendering them dead. Next to the sad excuse of a garden was a small garden pond, which was coating in a thick layer of slime. Small bubbles popped from it, as if something were still somehow alive in there. The unflinching sun's rays cast down on the house's grimy windows, that sent a chilling shiver down Naruto's spine. Through the window, there appeared to be a faint outline of a figure.

Naruto was going to call out for help, but the figure soon evaporated into thin air. She gawked, astounded. But before she could question it, she looked before her to see Mikoto and Fugaku were a great lengths away.

Begrudgingly Naruto tore her eyes away from the mysterious house and ran to catch up with her new _adoptive_ parents. Man, she'd never get used to that, would she?

As the neared a gigantic, meticulously white house, Naruto couldn't help her jaw from dropping. This place was freaking _huge!_ It was hands down the biggest house in the whole Uchiha Compound.

_I get to…live her? _Even though Mikoto and Fugaku leading her to it was enough of an answer, she still couldn't believe it. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined living somewhere as elegant as here. It was almost like royalty! She was thunderstruck by the idea of only four, well five, people living here. This place could easily fit over ten!

As soon as the door snapped shut behind the trio, the enticing scent of eggs assaulted their nostrils. Along with the overwhelming sensation of yearning for the breakfast meal, Naruto's tummy growled ferociously in hunger. The older woman smiled down to the blonde in a gentle, mothering type of way.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen, Naruto? I'll whip you up something to eat."

As she expected, no reply came from the youth. Not even any body language to indicate her approval. It was a bit unnerving to say that least. Her eyes, which brought some pain to Mikoto's heart, alway seemed to linger back to her. Naruto's stare was always calculating, as if she were staring right ion her soul; learning her deepest and darkest secrets.

The older woman shook her head at the silly notion. Naruto was just curious, having been thrown into a new family pack full of strangers couldn't be easy. Her never faltering gaze reminded Mikoto of Itachi's perceptive look. But at least he, like most if not every Uchiha, grunted in response.

The moment Mikoto stepped foot into the kitchen with the diminutive blonde beside her, and her husband behind her; she desperately wished she hadn't. What she _wanted_ to see was her darling children sitting serenely at the dinner table. Perhaps even Sasuke competing in a one-sided competition with his older brother, where Sasuke would internally challenge him to an eating competition. In those situations Itachi would be completely unaware of Sasuke's intentions, or was he? But it would always end the same way. Her youngest son laying flat on his back like a turtle, clutching his stomach as he heavily complained of having the urge to commit; from of course eating too much. While Itachi would continue eating his meal calmly, ignoring his younger brother's antics. But this time it wasn't like those precious moments. Not. At. **_All_**. Instead of her youngest chickadee shoveling a boat load of food into his mouth, he instead sat at the end of the dinner table. With roughly about over twenty eggs on plates around him. Itachi stood near the stove, doing what appeared to be a circus act?

"Itachi. What do you _think_ you're doing?"

Naruto turned to her with wide eyes. Where had her motherly, gentle and kind voice gone? It was now as hard as steel, and as cold as ice. In that moment she mentally noted **_not_** to get on Mikoto's bad side.

"Mother," An adolescent boy responded monotonously, turning his head briefly in acknowledgment before turning back to the burning egg, "Making Sasuke breakfast, like you ordered."

The Uchiha woman heaved a heavy sigh. Honestly, what had she expected leaving her son alone, unsupervised with _Itachi_. Fugaku inwardly groaned. So Itachi _had_ developed more then just his physical appearances.

Another, more higher pitched voice rang out, "Kaa-san!"

**~Omake~**

"Sasuke. I'm going to make you an eggcellent breakfast." Itachi announced, cracking the egg's contents into the sizzling frying pan. He vowed to make his younger brother the most perfect eggs ever! He would never, ever eat anything as grand as these!

"I'm b-egging you, Aniki, please don't do this." Sasuke whined, fed up with his brother's eggs-treme jokes. All he wanted was breakfast, was that so hard-boiled to ask? His terrible puns were enough to flip him over, scrambling his brain into mush.

"Are you not egg-cited for this?" Itachi asked, back turned to him as he flipped over the egg.

"No, I'm more egg-xhausted, I want to go back to bed." His younger brother announced honestly, wanting to eat breakfast and hibernate in his bed.

"I should've eggs-pected nothing less from you." Itachi rolled his eyes as a ghost of smile reached his lips.

"You're terrible jokes aren't cracking me up, Aniki." Sasuke groaned further, tossing himself back against the floor. It was a good thing he didn't break his back.

"That's all yolks!" Sasuke jovially shouted to nobody, causing Itachi to stare at him with an eyebrow raised inquisitively.


	6. Chapter 6

"Kaa-san!" The spiky haired child excitedly yelled, jumping to his feet. His small feet attempted to gracefully dance past the numerous plates stock full of eggs. Key word: attempted. His bunglesome sidesteps landed him on some plates filled with eggs. His clumsy feet broke the yolks onto the soles of his feet. He grimaced in disgust at the wretched squishy feeling, despite the minor complication he continued to barrel his way through to his parental. His yolk-covered feet left little foot imprints along the floor as he ran forward.

As he was closing in, the young lad's onyx eyes connected with brilliant blue, catching him completely off-guard. He smacked directly into his mother's stomach, the impact nearly knocking him onto his butt. The youngest Uchiha looked sideways towards the unexpected guest, then up towards his mother. "Kaa-san?"

Following where his gaze had lingered, she looked back down towards her hatchling. She smiled warmly, "Sasuke, this is Naruto-"

"Naruto? Like the ramen topping? What kind of lame name is that!" Sasuke laughed hysterically, as if it were the funniest thing in the world; all the while rudely pointing a finger at the blonde as he did so.

A burning hot metal spatula whipped through the air, smacking Sasuke's chubby pointer finger. Before the spatula could fall to the floor, the eldest Uchiha sibling swooped in and expertly snatched it.

While Sasuke moaned in fake pain and rubbed his finger, Itachi's dark eyes rolled over to his brother as he spoke up, "It is most indecent to point. It is also rather impolite to laugh at another's name. They had no say over it, it was chosen for them. If you weren't so ignorant you'd be able to see the beauty behind her name." Itachi shook his head at his brother's manners, then sighed, "Besides little brother, your named after a deceased elderly man."

Forgetting about his "hurt" finger he retorted, "A dead guy who was super cool! Isn't that right, Weasel?"

Itachi's lips thinned at the comeback. For a 5 year old, much sass was endowed to him.

"At least my hair doesn't resemble a duck's buttocks."

Sasuke's jaw nearly crashed against the floor. "I-Isa-Wha-Whaaaaaa?"

His small chubby hands raked through his intangible charcoal hair. The biggest frown Itachi had ever seen, bigger then his own father's (which deserves a medal), placed itself on Sasuke's small face.

"Kaaaaaaaa-saaaaaaaam! Itachi made fun of my hair!" He wailed, crocodile tears pouring out of his eyes.

Mikoto's material instincts kicked into overdrive. Quickly dropping to her knees, she enveloped her little baby chickadee in her arms. Sasuke instinctively rested his head in the crook of her shoulder. His mother's hand rubbed circles into his back while the other stroked his hair. She cooed, "Oh Sasu-chan it's alright. Your hair is absolutely adorable! And what's so wrong with it looking like a duck's booty? A ducky's booty is the softest part of it's body. Besides, at least it's not a pony tail. Men who have pony tails are weird and girly."

Inside Itachi's mind an explosion went off. Looks like his mother disapproves his future hair plans. He shrugged it off as a bridge he'd cross when he got there. Nothing like a parent's shame. Besides, teenage years were the most rebellious.

Through Sasuke's overdramatic display, he brought his head up to look at his older brother. And grinned. Yes, grinned. He had the gall to muffle his sobs for a split second to give his brother a victorious grin.

Itachi shrugged it off, guessing a little someone wasn't getting candy he'd gotten from his latest mission from The Land Of Tea.

Naruto stared at the youngest Uchiha with a calculating stare. He of course was too busy showing off to his older brother to notice it. She mentally noted what a brat he is and could be. She also noted just how much Sasuke had his mother wrapped around his tiny fingers.

Naruto's eyes rolled over to the eldest Uchiha sibling, who watched the display with blank eyes. It was as if he was sadly used to this. Being related to Sasuke must be terrible. But that's how siblings worked right? One always bothering the other? Stealing candy from each other? Tattling on each other? Blaming things on one another? One killing their parents and whole Clan for the other? Taking their own cousin's eye? Being branded as a traitor and villain instead of the hero they truly are? Being forced to lie for years? Planning out their own death so their sibling can murder them and get stronger? Dying with a smile on their face? But that's how siblings work, right?

A monotonous voice crashed through her thoughts, shattering them into a million teensy pieces, "It's nice to meet you, my name is Itachi."

She inwardly had to do a double take. He was what, like 9? 10? What child is that impassive? Especially during these years of childhood.

Taking in his general appearance for the first time Naruto deducted his dark eyes shimmered like polished coals. Along with the posture he had, Itachi stood as straight as a tack. She vaguely wondered if he were to stand any straighter, would his back snap in half?

He generally radiated an aura of…niceness, to some extent.

Naruto's eyes flickered to Fugaku, then back to this-so-called Itachi. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that Itachi was Fugaku's son, if the facial lines were any indication. Sasuke on the other hand looked much more like his mother, especially with those side bangs he's got going on.

Knowing Naruto wouldn't respond due to her muteness, whoops, _shyness_, Mikoto started to form the name on her lips until she was cut off by the culprit herself,

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

The name set off an array of warning bells that viscously chimed in Itachi's brain. Itachi knew that surname. He knew it too well. In fact there was only one person in this village that had it. And that also proved his hypothesis to be correct.

Itachi discreetly flashed his impassive look towards his mother, with a slightly raised brow. The look she gave him in return was equivalent to, "If you so much as peep a single word about Kushina and Minato I will personally chop your testicles off/make sure you're out of duty as a shinobi for the rest of your life/make you bedridden for all eternity, even if you are my son."

Mikoto smiled sweetly to her son. To the ordinary eye it was a smile as sweet as dango, but Itachi knew better. "Itachi, be a dear and show Naruto to her new room, oh, and give her a little tour on the way, okay?"

The Uchiha nodded while stepping forward, gently clasped his hand in hers; intending on leading the Uzumaki around the house. However, Naruto had different plans. Without her consent, Naruto's hand instantly yanked itself from his grasp, as if the Uchiha's touch was toxic.

Itachi's hand slowly retracted limply to his side, feeling guilty.

It was common knowledge to _never_ touch an ally shinobi, unless you could catch them off guard and have them mistake you for an enemy; killing you in an instant. It was like poking a cheetah with a stick. But she was just a child. If the math he calculated in his brain served to be correct, which it almost always was, Naruto would be five years old. The same age as his younger brother. Itachi didn't believe her to be a shinobi, not yet at least. Itachi knew it was possibly to be a shinobi at that young of an age, heck, he was living proof; seeing as he started at the tender age of five. But Naruto on the other hand didn't appear to hold the finesse. She was an innocent cinnamon roll too pure for the world. She couldn't have been tainted by the horrors of this world, right?

A child wouldn't react so oddly to such a familiar gesture.

The cogs in the prodigy's mind began to churn at a rapid pace. He intended to find out the truth, because when Itachi found an interest in something he stopped at nothing to figure it out. He was like the cat. His curiosity would definitely be the end of him.

Itachi had already formed a hypothesis or two, and he desperately hoped neither were true.

The atmosphere instantly became tense. Itachi's eyes migrated to Sasuke, both Uchiha siblings exchanging a long look. There was almost something hilarious about the awkwardness of the situation; no one dared to utter a single word, not a single muscle moved. Seconds ticked by painfully.

Naruto wanted nothing more than to dig up a ditch, curl up into it and die.

An awkward, drawn out cough reached her ears, words following with it, "I apologize, Uzumaki-san. I will not touch you again without your consent. Now, if you'd please follow me."

Not being able to take the other Uchiha's scrutinizing gaze, the blonde hurriedly forced her legs to move; following after the boy named Weasel. The eldest Uchiha heir led Naruto towards a wooden staircase, taking them in stride; a full two steps at a time. Naruto struggled trying to do the same. She soon came to the conclusion that if she kept this up she'd definitely fall and plummet to her inevitable death. Instead she did one step at a time, like a normal human being.

The instant the blonde child's foot reached the top step she was welcomed with the sight of a long hallway, filled with many sliding rice paper doors.

Itachi soon directed her attention to their immediate right, delicately yanking the door open, allowing her to see the contents within.

"This is the bathroom, as you can see."

She stared at it a few seconds before she realized Itachi had already moved on.

A few seconds later Itachi halted the tour once more, directing the Uzumaki's attention to the door in front of them, "This is my room, directly across from it will be the room you will reside in."

He then pointed to the room a little bit down from his, "That is Sasuke's room, directly across from his is our parent's room."

Naruto allowed the information to sink in, trying desperately to remember it all. It didn't seem so hard. Both the Uchiha brother's rooms were on the left side of the hallway, Naruto's and Fugaku/Mikoto's were on the right side. And Naruto's room was directly across from Itachi's. While the Sasuke's room was directly across from the Uchiha parents.

The girl inwardly sighed. Why did all the doors have to look so similar? She desperately hoped she wouldn't accidentally walk into another's room at the wrong time. She had enough problems, those weren't needed.

Itachi didn't bother to explain the rest of the rooms in the hallway, what a great tour guide he was. No, seriously, give this kid a metal or something.

The inky haired preteen gently slid the door across from his room open, ushering the Uzumaki inside. Cautiously she entered, harshly gripping the strap of her backpack.

A gasp escaped from between her lips. Cerulean blue eyes flickered around the meticulous room, her whole body doing a total 360; taking in every feature that was supposedly hers. It was a largely proportioned room with spotless, cream colored walls. A mahogany desk was located against the wall, with a black plush chair. Along with that was of course matching mahogany dressers and wardrobe. And last but not least, was a bed with pale yellow covers that resided directly against the wall, which had a large window next to it. The sun's rays shone through the window, filling the room with a greater warmth that was already held within it.

It wasn't Naruto's ideal bedroom, but right now she couldn't be picky. She was extremely grateful; all the orphanage had to offer was a room the size of a broom closet. Just because no one wanted to sleep in the presence of a _demon_. They didn't feel safe with her in the same room while they slept.

The blonde shook her head, ridding those thoughts from her head; her hair smacking against her cheeks in the process. The room she stood in was definitely the nicest place she'd ever be able to sleep. It definitely beat the street. Or that hellhole orphanage, if you could call it that.

The Uzumaki turned to the Uchiha incredulously, "This is...all mine?"

He nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips, but when Naruto double checked to see if she were seeing things, it vanished into thin air.

She breathed out, "Wow."

She declared her first order of business to test the bounciness of the bed.

Naruto shrugged off her backpack, smacking it against the bed, along with her stuffed fox. She clambered up the bed, and sat down off the side, and wiggled about. The Uzumaki then started bouncing up and down, mentally declaring her test an utter success. Despite its looks, the bed was indeed bouncy.

Itachi watched the whole display with amusement and curiosity. That is until a high-pitched shout ran throughout the entire house.

"WHY DOES SHE _HAVE_ TO STAY _HERE?!_"

Her minuscule session of enjoyment came to a immediate halt at the pterodactyl-like screeching. Itachi could see the small light that came to her eyes vanish once more.

Naruto knew it was too good to be true. Her brain had to painfully remind her that this was all temporary. That they would throw her out sooner rather than later. She would never belong here, because like Sasuke, she was positive no one here would want her in their presence.

Itachi brought his thumb and index finger to the base of his nose, then sprouted them out to his closed eyes; slowly rubbing them. He then heaved a long sigh before saying, "I apologize once more Uzumaki-san. My brother is severely lacking in the manners department. If you need me, you know where to find me."

Itachi smoothy turned on his heel, on his way to sedate his pain in the ass brother until a small voice rang out, "Naruto."

Itachi paused, his hand hovering over the door's handle. He looked over his shoulder in question.

"My name is Naruto."

The Uchiha prodigy nodded in unspoken understanding, before turning once more and stalking away. Despite the words coming from downstairs a tiny smile tugged at the sides of his lips.

* * *

><p>(づ￣ ³￣)づ<p>

* * *

><p>Sasuke watched as the duo left, inwardly growling. He wasn't liking the idea of his big brother being with a total stranger. A stranger who had burst her way into <em>his<em> home, somehow being able to stay because she was vacating the guest room. Sasuke sincerely hoped it was only for a few days, then she'd be gone forever. Little did Sasuke know that he was in for a rude awakening.

He turned to his mother, turning up the internal dial of charm and innocence. Sasuke pursed his lips cutely in a slight pout, one he knew his mother couldn't deny, "Kaa-san? How long is she staying here for? How many days?"

His mother looked down to Sasuke and shook her head, "_Naruto_," she stressed the name, "Will be staying here for a _very_ long time, honey. We've adopted her. She's your new sister, an official honorary Uchiha."

Sasuke felt like a can of soda that had just been shaken; like the contents from within him were going to explode everywhere. In less than 0.5 seconds, Sasuke's anger managed to skyrocket.

This _stranger_ had been in his house for what? Like ten minutes? And in that ten minutes she had gained the recognition of his mother. Who was next? His father? The whole Uchiha Clan? Or worse...Itachi!

The thought of her getting remotely close to his brother made Sasuke seethe in anger, dangerous thoughts began to enter his mind. His thoughts ranged from making Naruto resemble a burnt marshmallow roasting over a fire (even though Sasuke couldn't do any successful jutsus due to not having much (any) control over his chakra) to what forms of torture he could inflict on her so that insufferable blonde would run straight out of his home.

In the midst of his dangerous thoughts, several broke through his mouth, coming out with the force of a thunderclap, "WHY DOES SHE _HAVE_ TO STAY _HERE?!_ WHY DID THAT MENACE HAVE TO BE DUMPED OFF HERE?! WHY CAN'T WE JUST MOVE THAT INSUFFERABLE BLONDE SOMEWHERE ELSE?! SOMEWHERE FAR, FAR AWAY!"

Sasuke's father had always instructed him from a very young age to always speak his mind like a true respectable man, or else people would walk all over him like a doormat. His mother on the other hand was the complete opposite, and had raised him with the firm belief of, "If you don't have nothing nice to say, don't say it all."

It utterly confused the Uchiha child to no end. How could you make life decisions if you were told two completely different things. Man, parenting and parents in general are a mess of confusion.

His mother's lovely face turned fierce.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, beyond the point of being shocked. He hasn't expected his mother to push back. He had expected her to full heartedly agree with him like she always did and get rid of that nuisance upstairs once and for all.

Regret and dread instantly filled his entire being. The iron-haired child desperately wished he could get a chalkboard eraser and wipe away the words from his mother's memory. Or at least blame his father, because Fugaku was partially at fault. Obviously.

Something inside of Mikoto snapped, cracking right down the middle. A small something inside of her brain that forced her hand to sail up into the air and expeditiously slam down, forcefully contacting with her youngest son's pudgy cheek.

The crack of skin contacting skin echoed off the walls. Vibrations of pain started to collect in her palm and spread all the way to her fingers. Mikoto lifted the accursed hand to her face, eyes widening in horror at the fact that her palm was bright red; the same red mark that matched the outlining on her youngest child's face. Mikoto futility attempted to keep her hand from shaking as she lowered it down to her side. Sasuke's wide eyes stared up at his mother, his eyes, like his mouth, trembled. This type of treatment was foreign. Mikoto had _never_ laid a finger on her children. Well, except for now.

Tears welled up in the youngest Uchiha's dark eyes, spilling out in a rush-like-waterfall. His small hand slowly made it to his fire red cheek.

A sob broke through the air, a small pitiful sound that reflected his heart that was breaking. Then a loud wail burst through his lips, shattering not only Mikoto'a eardrums, but her heart.

Mikoto's eyes flickered elsewhere, trying to squeeze down her undying guilt and shame. Her eyes locked on the unexpected visitor that she had failed to realize standing there. On the bottom step stood Itachi looking utterly shocked and mortified. It was as if someone had just rammed a Chidori straight through his heart.

His right hand was clenching and unclenching dangerously close to his right pocket. The very same tick he inherited from Fugaku, although Mikoto knew her son wasn't equipped with any weapons at the moment; today was Itachi's day off and he let his guard down around his family. Even if he did have a kunai in his pocket, would he take it out and embed it straight through Mikoto's heart? Itachi wouldn't kill his mother, would he? His creator? The very same person who have him life. Surely he wouldn't. He just couldn't. Itachi was too gentle of a child.

Itachi brought a whole new meaning to "he wouldn't harm a fly." Although, while it was true Itachi was a pacifist and didn't harm insects, he was extremely capable of harming humans, whether it be emotionally or physically; or a little bit of both.

Mikoto snapped out of her thinking as another fresh wave of guilt washed over her. She clamped her teeth together, to keep from crying herself.

She turned to her still sobbing son, who at this point was more or less hyperventilating from his intense crying fit. She desperately tried to lace her words with venom as she spoke, "I will _not_ tolerate such words nor behavior in this household! Your father and I have adopted Naruto, and that is final! She is not a burden, she is family, your sister and my daughter!" Mikoto paused the word "daughter." It felt exceedingly foreign on her tongue. It wasn't bad just...different. Her mind shuffled through a deck of punishments until she decided on one. "Sasuke, I want this floor so clean I see my gorgeous reflection it in. If it is not to my standards young man, so help me, you'll be doing it over!"

Her son acquiesced her decision by nodding his head weakly, desperately trying to suffocate his sobs to mild sniffles; but no such luck.

"You are also going to eat each and every single one of those eggs—"

Her son's hyperventilated words cut in, "But-but-but some-some of those eggs are b-burnt!"

"I don't care how burnt they are, they can be a pile of ash for all I care. You _will_ be eating them for dinner tonight, breakfast tomorrow morning, lunch as well _and_ if there's some left over you'll be eating them for dinner once more. Not a speck is to be left on those plates!" Mikoto breathed in and out, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. She then asked in a low tone, "Are we understood?"

Another sullen nod.

With a tightly locked jaw, Mikoto focused her gaze straight ahead, past Itachi; seemingly focusing on nothing in particular. She briskly walked past Itachi, not daring to look down into his eyes; she felt too much like a coward. But Itachi saw it all. He saw the tears gathering in her eyes. It was brief, a second or two, but unforgettable.

Itachi stood silently as he father soundlessly passed by him as well, slowly chasing after his mother.

The Uchiha heir's eyes latched onto his younger sibling, who stared absentmindedly at the floor as his sobs transferred into loud sniffles.

Itachi took tentative steps, trying to add some sound to them like he always did around Sasuke. It was hard to switch off, walking noisily, it wasn't like a simple light switch where you could flip it on or off whenever you pleased. Shinobi trained to walk soundlessly for months, possibly even years.

"I will help you clean up the floor and eat the eggs, it is my fault for causing such a mess."

Sasuke's eyes flickered up from the floor and stared directly into his brother's. "Why do you want to help? Shouldn't you be off doing something else? Like being with _her?_"

Itachi's lips formed into a taunt line. He knew his brother's words of hatred were misplaced onto him, but that didn't mean Sasuke's words had no effect on his heart.

"I am your older brother Sasuke. It is my duty to protect you, even to the death. I used three cartons of eggs, which is exactly thirty-six eggs. If you wish to eat them all, proceed. Unless you want my assistance."

Sasuke stared blankly at his older brother. What was he even saying? What would he protect him from? A nutritious breakfast meal? Real threatening. The youngest Uchiha couldn't help but roll his eyes at his older brother's proclamation.

Yeah, eggs were definitely worth giving your life up for. That was as smart as murdering your whole Clan and telling your younger sibling to devote their life to killing them. Absolutely. Genius.

When the youngest Uchiha didn't respond, Itachi pressed on, "Having a strict diet of eggs has been proven to be unhealthy. The cholesterol within the egg's yolk causes your blood pressure to rise drastically. Having high cholesterol can contribute to heart disease which is a silent killer. Just like a ninja. But at least with a ninja you know death is coming towards you and can try to prevent it, but with eggs your life is taken before you can try to live. Also—"

Sasuke gazed up this big brother, his lips now trained in a taut line. His midnight black eyes drifted down to his brother's lips, attempting to focus on the words he was saying. Sasuke really tried to grasp what he was talking about but to no avail. It simply went into one ear and out the other.

The younger Uchiha softly coughed, attempting to smother down his smile. His older brother was a gigantic dork. But Itachi was _his_ gigantic dork. And his alone. Nobody else's. Especially not _hers_. He would not, under any circumstance, let her take him away.

"Eggs can also—"

"Itachi that's enough, I get it, okay?" Sasuke whined.

His older brother clamped his lips shut and gave him an expecting glance.

In return Sasuke merely crossed his tiny arms over his chest and huffed, looking off to the side. He then murmured silently, "Fine, whatever. You can help, not that I need it or anything."

* * *

><p>(づ￣ ³￣)づ<p>

* * *

><p>Soon enough the Uchiha brothers had acquired cleaning supplies and were positioned on their hands and knees, scrubbing the kitchen floor with all their might. Itachi of course was sadly doing most of the work, having to pick up Sasuke's slack. It appeared Sasuke left more of a mess then when he began, which Itachi couldn't believe was possible; how do you make a floor more dirty with cleaning supplies?<p>

On the counter behind the duo lay numerous piled up plates. The plates were stocked with a boat-load of eggs, making it swayed haphazardly. They were one good blow from knocking over. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. Surely their mother wouldn't make them eat food off the floor like animals. Right?

The kitchen was deathly quiet, save for the scrubbing of bristles against the floor.

That is, until a small voice broke through, "Itachi…why did Kaa-san…why did she hit me?"

Itachi jolted upwards onto his knees, ceasing his scrubbing to stare at his younger brother. Sasuke's work performance had stamen on a slower pace, indicating that this matter was bothering him greatly. Not that Itachi could blame him. It was perfectly understandable.

He heaved a sigh, not knowing exactly how to respond. He'd been asking himself the same question. "I'm…unsure of her reasons, but I do believe she's under a great deal of stress."

"Stress?" His brother questioned while his gaze hardening at the floor, "What is she stressed about?"

Itachi went back to his scrubbing, averting his eyes from Sasuke. "I'm not one hundred percent sure." It technically wasn't a lie. He was about ninety-seven percent sure. Although the last three percent was just Itachi's denial.

The room soon drifted back into silence. But before it could sink into awkward, Itachi returned his question with one of his own, "Why does Naruto's presence displease you?"

When Itachi looked up he saw Sasuke's eyebrows were pulled down in the middle, bunching up the skin above his nose. "Because…she's not like me and you."

The prodigy child inwardly snorted at the remark. Couldn't fight with that _genius_ argumentative point. Itachi took the opportunity to correct him, "The correct phrasing is 'you and I'."

Itachi didn't have to look at Sasuke to know he was rolling his eyes. However, Itachi pressed on, phrasing his words as simply as he could, "Sasuke, if I am your brother, than Naruto is your sister."

A fuse set off within the younger child. Itachi's scrubbing ceased as his onyx eyes snapped up to his brother's similar ones. The only difference was his were set ablaze with fury. "But you're a Uchiha! It's in _your_ blood, not _hers_. She won't ever carry the title of Uchiha! She's not good enough to be apart of _our_ Clan! And she most definitely doesn't belong in this house!"

As quick as the blink of an eye Itachi was in front of his younger brother, raising his right index and middle fingers to bonk Sasuke on the forehead. While Sasuke rubbed the area in irritation, Itachi spoke in an air-light tone, "Don't you dare speak like that. She _is_ a Uchiha now, whether you like it or not. And Naruto most certainly does have the merit to carry our surname, she's destined to do good things Sasuke, I just know it. Just give her time to adjust. You'll—"

"I don't want her to _adjust!_ I want her _gone!_"

Itachi felt a surge of irritation at his younger sibling's ignorance. "Remember Sasuke, DNA doesn't make a family, love does."

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort until his eyes bolted down to the item in Itachi's hand. He stared, gobsmacked before recovering himself. "Is that…a toothbrush?"

"Indeed."

Sasuke asked incredulously, "Whose is it?"

"Mine."

"...Don't you need that?"

"Not anymore."

* * *

><p>(づ￣ ³￣)づ<p>

* * *

><p>Six hours.<em> Six freaking hours!<em> That was the amount of time it had taken to cleanse the kitchen floor. Now, I know what you're thinking, that's impossible. How could someone possibly clean a _floor_ for _six fucking hours?_ Simple. Two young boys, the elder of the two using a toothbrush for reasons not even Sasuke could explain. Even if it was totally bonkers it did prove to be extremely useful for certain crevices in the floor that would've been unreachable.

We find our Uchiha brothers in their living room, on a plush couch heaving slightly. Don't judge them! You'd be heaving too if you had to polish your kitchen floor, on your knees, over eight times.

Itachi lulled his head over to his younger brother and murmured, "Be grateful we don't live in the Hyuuga Clan."

Sasuke lazily rolled his head to the right, drowsily facing his brother. "Why? What's their punishment?"

Itachi's face grew grim as he lethargically reached a hand up to his short hair and lovingly patted it, and whispered, "They have to…..cut off….their hair."

"What?! I've never seen a bald Hyuuga before! I bet Tou-san would really love to see that."

The corners of Itachi's lips hiked up, "They also do something far worse."

"What's that?"

"The Hyuuga's steal your candy."

"No way!"

"Yes way. Sasuke you haven't seen the horrors I've seen."

"You better go and hide your candy Itachi."

"Don't worry brother, it's already hidden away."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you that information."

He whined. "Why nottttt?"

Itachi's eyelids drooped down, the vague feeling of sleep beginning to wash over him, "Because it's top secret. Shhhhhh."

The eldest Uchiha nearly fell asleep on the couch if it weren't for his mother's booming voice that cut through the air, "Itachi, Sasuke, wash up! Dinner's almost ready!"

Itachi begrudgingly tore himself off from the couch with the speed that could rival a snail. With an afterthought his mother hurriedly added, "You too Naruto!"

Sasuke followed closely behind his big brother as they both marched up the stairs to wash up in the bathroom. Itachi was blind to the giant sneer adorning his younger brother's face.

* * *

><p>(づ￣ ³￣)づ<p>

* * *

><p><strong>I've decided on two things. One, I'm going to continue to use these adorable faces for line breakers, almost like in <strong>_Chipped Mask _by _Darkpetal16. _**I'm going to make the faces different each chapter, and if you haven't read **_Chipped Mask _**you seriously, seriously need to! **

**I've also decided make my chapters shorter in order to update more often. Chapter 6 was originally going to be a full 20,000 words. So instead I'm chopping it up into about 3 or 4 chapters. I'm not sure if you guys like long or short chapters, so tell me what you think! I also hope all of your summers are amazing so far! Don't be afraid to tell me how it's going, I'd love to read about it!**

**ALSO: Reviews are _LOVED._ They're great motivators that make me get off my ass and start writing, so be a doll and drop one off every now and then. Thank you! C:**

**ANOTHER ALSO: _HUGE THANKS_ to my best friend, **_dreamwithinadream626 _**for the totally awesome cover! I love it so, so, so much! Check out her profile cause her writing is the absolute best. She's got an Ouran fic and a _High school AU Naruto fanfic,_ called **Well, This Sucks. **It is ****_absolutely_ hilarious and awesome! So please make sure to show her some love, and thank you all for reading. I love you all~**


	7. Chapter 7

"Naruto, honey, would you mind setting these bowls down at the table for dinner?"

Blue met black as Naruto's gaze flashed up to Mikoto. She nodded feverishly, not knowing how else to respond in this situation. Naruto had never before been asked to "set bowls at the table." When dinner rolled around in the orphanage, Naruto wasn't allowed to sit with the other children normally.

The Uchiha matriarch placed four pristine white bowls in the blonde's small hands, before remembering their additional member; hurriedly adding a fifth. The Jinchuuriki wobbled beneath the weight of the bowls, being exceptionally weak due to lack of nutrition over the years. Naruto nearly made it to the table, before of course, pathetically and in the most cliché fashion, tripped over her own two feet.

The porcelain bowls flew from the small child's grasp, crashing against the wooden floorboards; a select few shattering into innumerable little glass bits.

Naruto sluggishly bounced back to her feet, eyes quickly surveying the damage she had accidentally done.

The cinnamon roll too precious for the world's brain switched into Panic Mode while her mouth exploded with a volley of apologies, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I swear! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The minuscule tater tot soon took on a defensive position by holding her toothpick arms over her head, awaiting to be stricken.

Mikoto dropped the utensils she was previously grabbing from a drawer and slid to Naruto's side, instinctively pulling the trembling child away from the broken bowls and into her warm chest.

Mikoto's voice was surprisingly soft, not vicious as she spoke to the Uzumaki, "Oh baby...shhh, shhh, it's alright. There's no need to apologize. I'm not a monster you know. Now...are you hurt?"

"No..."

Worry washed away and a broad smile took its place on the woman's face. The elegant woman nodded, more to herself than Naruto. "Good. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you were to get injured."

Naruto lowered her arms and stared at the Uchiha woman through watery eyes. _Why is she...so worried? About me? Aren't I nothing? A monster? A demon? Demons aren't suppose to be treated this way...right?_

Mikoto hugged Naruto tightly, who was too shocked to tense up, and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Why don't you go sit at the table while I clean this up? I'll have Itachi set the table so don't you worry. Everyone else will be down soon enough."

The kid named after a ramen-topping nodded numbly, turned on her heel and left Mikoto. As Naruto was about to exit the kitchen to enter the next room, the dining room, she quickly noticed the duck-butt haired individual standing in the kitchen doorway. His mother was oblivious to his presence, too engrossed with her cleaning task. Both children stood there silently, their eyes connecting, hers were conflicted while his were full of loathing and disgust; as if Sasuke were looking directly at a bug beneath his tiny foot. It was brief, but felt as if they were staring at each other for eons. Sasuke was the first to look away, unable to stare at the blonde for another moment longer.

Naruto couldn't take it. She couldn't take another second of his blatant _staring. _Thank the Gods Sasuke looked away first. But the Uzumaki couldn't bear to look into those dark, seemingly never-ending dark abysses' he called eyes. Turning on her heel, she promptly left the kitchen; silently turning down Mikoto's offer for her to take a seat at the table.

When her presence was no longer felt, the youngest Uchiha scornfully scoffed to himself. He didn't understand why this _Naruto_ was even in _his _home. It was _his _family. It was _Sasuke's _mother _and_ father, not hers! And dear god, it was _his_ and only _his_ brother!

Sasuke grit his tiny teeth at the mere thought of that idiotic blonde getting close with _his_ aneki. Itachi was his, not hers. No exceptions.

Snapping back to his senses, he not-too-eagerly strode over to his mother's side, and slowly dropped to his knees; attempting to help clean up that _brat's _mess.

Mikoto looked up from picking up a white glass shard, "Oh no Sasu-chan, it's alright. I don't want you cutting yourself. Besides, I'm almost done here. But thank you anyways."

Sasuke begrudgingly got to his feet, feeling exponentially useless as his mother scooped up more shards into a dustpan.

"Where did this glass come from? I heard the crash and came rushing down." he asked even though it was a fib, Sasuke had the displeasure of witnessed the whole display moments before.

Mikoto stood with the full dustpan, and dumped it out in a nearby garbage can.

"Naruto, the poor thing, dropped some dinner bowls. I think they were too heavy for her. I really

wish she would've told me, instead of setting the table I would've had her set out the utensils instead... I'm just glad she didn't cut herself. I don't want the poor child injured, she's like a baby bird after all; easily breakable."

Without his mother seeing, Sasuke's midnight eyes rolled around in his head while he mentally gagged. No wait. That might be actual gagging. Was that bile he felt rising in his throat? Or was that just hatred? They both tasted similar.

More thoughts of utter loathing popped into the small child's brain. _Why does mother care so much? If that insufferable brat cut herself all she'd need is a stupid band-aid! It's not like she would've severed a limb! And a baby bird? How dumb! Although she does look pathetically weak...but she can't be _that_ weak! _

A stunning realization startled the young lad, _Kaa-san has given into her whims! She's babying her! Perhaps that blonde isn't as stupid as I thought? Maybe she has mind-controlling powers! That's how she must be getting close to my family! It has to be! It all makes so much sense now!_ Sasuke's expression then turned enraged. How dare she! How dare she mind-control _his_ family! Especially into "adopting" her and "liking" her! Had she used those accursed mind control powers on his mother so she'd clean up the mess?

Mikoto stared at her son as his face snapped through a torrent of emotions, one right after another. One second he was perfectly fine and relatively calm, then the next millisecond his face contorted into an expression of massive rage. Mikoto chose not to question it. Uchiha conflicts and emotions were not to be inquired about.

"Kaa-san? Why does she have to stay here?"

Mikoto heaved a heavy sigh, "Sasuke, we've discussed this, and I will _not_ be repeating myself. Do not judge my decision, do not question this matter further; and most certainly do not treat Naruto in any indecent manner. Your father and I have discussed adopting Naruto, and it's been decided that she will be staying here, whether you like it or not."

Sasuke's next words flopped around until they drowned in his mouth; he then proceeded let out a set of strangled noises from his throat. Sasuke than began wringing his hands in the air and then finally gave one final huff. "Fine," he stated before crossing his puny arms over his chest; gaze set hard to the floor.

But Uchihas' didn't know when to quit, their stubbornness was known to cause wars. When another argumentative point popped into his brain, Sasuke whirled his head around to look up at his mother. Mikoto gave her son the famous Uchiha glare that could literally freeze Hell over.

Sasuke knew better than to tread further on the eggshell path his mother had laid out for him.

Sasuke wisely chose not to prod his mother further and avoid potentially getting into any more trouble. With a pout adorning his face, Sasuke pivoted on his heel, sulking over to the dining room.

He was greeted with the glorious sight of his older brother setting the dinner table, which Itachi always did when he was home; which wasn't very often. The duty was usually left in the small hands of Sasuke. On most nights, if not all, Mikoto usually made a meal that ensured leftovers. Mikoto would always pack some away for Itachi when he finally came home after a long and tiresome mission. And she'd generously set aside a full plate for her husband, so Fugaku could warm up the meal when he came home after an agonizingly long day of working at the Uchiha Police.

Sasuke had grown familiar to the sight of two occupied tatami mats. To see an extra two for his father and brother always filled him with a sense of joy and a bit of shock. But the fifth mat made him downright furious.

The temporary owner of the mat stood in the corner like an awkward potato. Sasuke wasn't sure when she'd arrived, because the easiest way to get into the dining room to cut through the kitchen. But you could also take the slightly longer route of through the living room; which connects to the dining room. That was the route the blonde twit must've done, because Sasuke would've noticed her presence if she'd entered the kitchen once more. His eyes narrowed on her. The abomination must've taken the other route as to avoid him. Good. She was capable of learning. Sasuke originally labeled her as a feeble-minded puppy, but he supposed she wasn't. Color him shocked.

Her striking blue eyes watched his brother like a hawk stalking it's prey; the blonde didn't even bother trying to hide her blatant staring. To say her staring was blunt was the understatement of the century, possibly even a millennia. It was unnerving to say the least, and Sasuke was internally grateful the creep at least blinked; it reduced the creepiness by only by a small fraction.

Naruto on the other hand just simply could not keep her eyes from migrating in the general direction of Itachi. She could've swore the lad had an invisible magnetic field cloaked over his entire body that kept drawing her line of sight towards him.

He was just so...pretty. No. Not in appearance, although there was nothing wrong with his looks. The ten year old's movements were languid, flowing perfectly into one another; he was the very epitome of grace. Every little thing Itachi did, such as setting down an empty glass cup, was aligned to perfection with it's neighboring dinner utensils. Who knew something as simple as setting a glass on a table could look so beautiful? It reminded Naruto of the pretty princesses in the multiple stories Hiruzen would read to her in the orphanage, on the very few occasions that he found time to visit. In the stories Hiruzen read to her, the princesses would have to undergo massive training in etiquette, such as placing a novel on their heads and walk in a straight line without having it get knocked off. Naruto couldn't help but think that if Itachi was a princess he'd be the prettiest princess in the Kingdom. No, scratch that, the prettiest princess in whole wide world. Not even the Hyuuga would be able to compete.

Itachi was keenly aware of the youngster's staring, I mean, how could you not notice it? You'd have to be blind. And the preteen most certainly had both of his eyes, in perfect condition he might add.

Naruto could've sworn she saw the corners if his lips tilt up. Surely she hadn't imagined it. Right? To be fair it had lasted the length of a blink of an eye, all traces vanishing from the earth. It was like the works of someone clearing the evidence of a family massacre.

The moment Itachi elegantly placed the last pair of pristine chopsticks down, Mikoto rushed in (nearly knocking Sasuke over) with a black oval-shaped pot. The midnight-haired woman was quick to place the kitchenware on the wooden placemat located directly in the center of the table. She brought her left oven-mitt covered hand up to tear off the right one. Naruto watched as Mikoto brought her now bare hand up to her forehead and wiped away invisible sweat. Although Naruto was more than positive that the dark-haired woman was incapable of sweating, it just wasn't a part of her body coding. And even if Mikoto was able to generate sweat, Naruto couldn't help but think she'd still be fabulous.

Mikoto's melodious laughter filled the dining room, making Naruto's ears perk up a bit. It was such a beautiful sound; the Uzumaki wished it would never cease to exist. The Uchiha woman flashed a smile as she looked down to the pot, "That was heavier than it looked! I suppose I am getting weaker with my old age, I think I should start working out again..."

The blonde couldn't help but agree with the Uchiha matriarch on only one account. That pot was _huge!_ The pot (and the contents within it) most likely weighed more than her, which wasn't that hard due to being a teeny bit underweight; the cause being not having a stable diet in the orphanage. To say Naruto was underfed in that building was a grave understatement.

As for Mikoto's other statement, Naruto couldn't help but find that accusation to be false. In no way, shape or form did the Queen-like Uchiha appear weak; Naruto would bet her stuffed fox that Mikoto could bench press her. Which once again, wouldn't be much of a challenge. And as for the previous statement regarding her "old age," the Jinchuuriki couldn't help but think Mikoto was a fibber. In Naruto's mind the Uchiha matriarch was incapable of aging, just like the sweating, it simply wasn't in her being to age. There was no signs of aging whatsoever. Usually skin showed indications of age, but not Mikoto's. Her skin was a step up from the pearly white of her youngest son's, and it didn't contain any wrinkles; except for the slight creases near her eyes when she laughed. But they were no way near the point of crows feet. Maybe in another twenty years or so Mikoto might have a wrinkle. Mikoto's hair also didn't contain any streaks of silver, leaving no indication of old age. She was a Queen. A flawless Queen who's beauty shined brightly.

It was in that moment Naruto came to a stunning realization. She was in a house of royalty. Sure, it wasn't a castle like in the stories the Sandaime read to her, but perhaps it was a castle in disguise? Or a modern-day castle? The house was gigantic after all.

The more Naruto thought about it, the more it made sense. The way Fugaku and Mikoto held themselves, and the air of confidence that surrounded them (more Fugaku then Mikoto.) Even the slightest detail, such as Fugaku and Mikoto's walk, held a striking resemblance to royalty. They walked with purpose and poise, their heads held high as they stared ahead.

It was without a doubt that Fugaku was a King, Mikoto his lovely Queen. Itachi was their pretty Princess and Sasuke their arrogant Prince.

Fugaku and Mikoto both reigned over their kingdom, the Uchiha Compound.

But if the Fugaku was the King of his kingdom, did that make the Third Hokage the larger King that reigned over the larger kingdom; which was the whole village?

Did that mean the Clans were mini-kingdoms within a large kingdom? With their own Kings and Queens?

Before Naruto could further question her hypothesis and further hurt her brain, Fugaku suddenly filed in; taking his respective seat at the head of the rectangular table. As Fugaku criss-crossed his legs on the tatami mat his wife took her usual place to his right, while Itachi sat to his father's left. But before Sasuke could move to sit next to his brother's left, _his seat_, Itachi's gaze flickered over to the blonde who was oddly shying off into the corner of the room.

Naruto stared straight back at the eldest Uchiha sibling, his dark eyes shimmering like oil beneath a moon-lot sky. Itachi's gaze was unwavering; too steady to be real. Depsite the warm temperature of the room, a shiver was sent spiraling down her spine.

His posture was eerily as straight as a tack. She vaguely wondered if he were to sit any straighter, would his back snap in half?

The prodigy child's monotonous tone lowly spoke out to her, "Naruto, I've saved a seat for you. Would you care to sit next to me?"

Her teeth unconsciously snapped together as she thickly swallowed a ball of saliva. Of course she cared! She'd never sat next to anyone during a meal! Not ever! She was always subjected to sit in the corner, in her own personal chair. The chair specifically assigned to the _demon._

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><p>~Flashback Of Doom~<p>

( ﾟ∀ﾟ)

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><p>The sound of high-pitched, booming laughter belonging to that of multiple children circulated the small room. The additional sound of glass cups <em>tinkling<em> against the long, shabby wooden table was thrown into the mix as well. Wooden chairs as old as a millennium screeched across the withering floorboards as the children occupying the chairs propelled themselves back and forth; the sound felt like a constant stabbing to Naruto's eardrums. What was worse then that was the godawful screeching of some girl wailing at the top of her lungs. Naruto was thoroughly surprised that the girl's throat wasn't raw enough to stop. The crying girl had been going at it for a good five minutes. Straight. No breaks for air whatsoever.

Either the fellow orphan must've perfected her technique by now, or had an amazing lung capacity. Naruto, along with every other orphan, sadly had her wailing imprinted in their brains. Most, if not every single time an orphan was crying, it was undoubtedly her. Her obnoxious crying would ricochet off the walls and bounce right into your skull; resulting in a massive migraine.

The orphan girl's crying was purely an attention tactic. The only problem was it backfired on her, no one gave her the attention she so desperately craved; they instead did the opposite and choose to ignore her as if she wasn't even there. As if she were perfectly mute. How Naruto wished she was.

This time she was crying her heart out due to the massive clumps of lumpy mashed potatoes woven into her tawny brown hair. The boys at the table were up to their usual nonsensical games. They played this idiotic game where one boy would launch food from a spoon into the air while the others would attempt to catch it in their mouths. It was like an owner throwing treats to their dog. The boys played this "game" with all sorts of foods; basically anything they could either catapult, throw or catch. Everything except for soup. They had learned that the hard way. Naruto inwardly winced at the memory, that little boy's face was still scarred to this day.

Someway or another the food always found its way towards the crybaby girl.

But Naruto couldn't blame the fellow orphan girl, those mashed potatoes (if you could call them that) were absolutely putrid. You couldn't classify them as food. Naruto was vaguely surprised it was edible, the mashed potatoes weren't even white for crying out loud! And crying out loud that girl did!

The sound of Naruto's stomach rumbling ripped the whiskered-cheeked child from her thoughts; dragging her right back to reality.

She pulled her knees tighter to her chest; grimacing while her hunger arose. The blonde shoved her face into her legs, trying to keep her mind off of her stomach. It was a task easier said (or thought in this case) then done.

After a few moments of trying to calm her growling tummy, Naruto's head resurfaced to lie on her kneecaps. She stared ahead of her, at the splintery old wooden table. Electric blue eyes connected not only with the plates mounted with food, but the owner's of the food. Naruto wasn't allowed to sit at the table with her fellow orphans. Mrs. Molinda's mantra bounced around in her skull,_ "Under no circumstances is a _demon_ such as yourself permitted to sit at this table! You might infect the children! And I do not need another lawsuit on my hands! _

Naruto inhaled through her nose deeply, then breathed out a sigh. Every single day, no matter what meal, Naruto was directed into a dingy chair in the corner of the room and forced to watch the other orphans eat their meals with vigor. There were two types of orphans at meal time: those who blatantly ignored Naruto and wouldn't spit on her if she was on fire (she was internally grateful for those ones); or those who would openly stare at her while eating and taunt her to death. The older orphans were the worse; they were teenagers. They would shove the food in her face, literally. The evil teens would come over to her chair, the _demon's_ chair, and stuff food underneath her nose, taking great pleasure in watching the Jinchuuriki squirm; inwardly going insane. After their meal, Naruto was left to quickly scrounge around at their near empty plates. Kids would look on and snicker at the sight, condescendingly sneering and calling her a filthy rat. Naruto didn't even fight back against the word anymore, because it came to the point where she started feeling like one too.

A pinch at her index finger shattered her thoughts. Naruto looked down, surprised to see her tightened grasp around the edge of the chair. The blonde lifted the hurt hand to her face, inspecting the lovely splinter that nestled itself right into her finger. The child inwardly sighed. The chair she sat atop was in far worse condition than the table, innumerable splinters that pricked into her skin constantly.

The splinters weren't the worse part about the chair though. Oh no. It was the word.

A single word engraved into the wooden chair: **_Demon_**. The letters were ragged, as if inscribed by a knife. It definitely added to the chair's already melancholic appeal.

In no way, shape or form did Naruto know how to read yet, but she'd been called that phrase for as long as she could remember. The word was a normality, such as "hello" or "nice weather we're having." The word was sadly engraved harder into her head and her heart than the chair she sat on.

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><p>( ﾟ∀ﾟ)<p>

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><p>Itachi's cool eyes bore into hers, awaiting her response; whether it be verbal or physical. Naruto's hands balled up at her sides, not quite sure what to do. They were all <em>staring<em> at her. Four pairs of button-black eyes staring directly into her soul. Stiffly, more stiffer than any board of wood, the whiskered blonde child slowly shuffled over to the prodigy. She was keenly aware of the sound of her feet scuffing against the wooden floorboards. The Uzumaki didn't have time to even think about lifting her feet off the ground. And Naruto was more than positive that if she did lift her feet, they would come crashing down like cinderblocks.

Naruto wanted nothing more than for them all to ignore her like most of the kids in the orphanage did. The Jinchuuriki prayed they would just start eating and become too absorbed in their food than in her. But Naruto knew better; that was far too much to ask for. Naruto also knew the universe held an intense grudge against her for some reason she couldn't comprehend.

The child plopped down on the plush tatami mat, then to keep from embarrassing herself more than she already was, quickly criss-crossed her legs.

Crystalline blue eyes not-so-subtly peered to the right, staring directly at the Uchiha prodigy. Itachi, unlike her, was very subtle with his facial expressions; just like the small smirk that played on the corners of his lips. Itachi looked as if he had just won the biggest stuffed teddy at the carnival. Even though his midnight black eyes stared down to the table, Naruto knew the smile was directed towards her. That almost made her smile. _Almost._

She mentally deduced that he generally radiated an aura of...friendliness, even if it was extremely subtle.

On the other hand the second Uchiha sibling wasn't so...nice. That word definitely couldn't be found in his vocabulary. Sasuke didn't radiate anything. Well, maybe he did radiate something; hatred and annoyance. Currently, from across the table Sasuke had his arms childishly crossed over his chest and looked at Naruto as though she was the lowest form of life imaginable.

The Uzumaki's gaze fell to the wooden table, eyes widening as her brain spit out a stunning realization. The youngest Uchiha loathed her. That much was obvious. But he didn't hate her like others did! Sasuke hated Naruto because she was invading his comfort zone. Overstepping her bounds into his territory. An innocent hatred. Naruto was oddly content with this discovery. Besides, Sasuke hadn't called her that _word._ Come to think of it, none of the Uchiha's had. It was more concerning that Naruto hadn't the slightest idea what the word meant, but she did know it wasn't a nice one; due to the faces people made when speaking it. Her head slowly rose, lips pursed; feeling the overwhelming need to ask the definition of the accursed word.

But Naruto wasn't left to think on that for too long because before she knew it a steaming bowl was placed directly in front of her. She closed her eyes as a heavenly scent filled her nostrils. Taking a deep breath, the precious child filled her lungs with the scent that wafted towards her.

Lively sapphire blue eyes popped open, flickering up towards the youngest Uchiha's pitiful attempt at a glare. Sasuke's lips were pulled back in a sneer, but what took Naruto by surprise was the jealously deep within his eyes. Naruto's eyes gazed down, lowering themselves to look down at his bowl. The contents within were not the same as hers, or the rest of his family's. Instead of the meal they were having, his bowl contained...eggs? Perhaps he only ate eggs at dinner? Maybe Sasuke was on some strict diet regiment?

Naruto didn't ponder on the subject for too long because her eyes herded her back to the meal in front of her. Naruto attempted to figure out exactly what she was seeing. For one thing it appeared far too elegant for someone of such low status (like her) to consume. A meal fit for royalty. Something Naruto definitely wasn't; a meal the Jinchuuriki definitely shouldn't be having. Secondly, the assortment of colors bursted to life in a single dish; something that left the Uzumaki in silent awe. And last but certainly not least was the biggest problem, Naruto had no clue how to use chopsticks. They were a foreign object that felt clumsy in her small hands. At the orphanage she was left to her own devices, which meant using your hands. It was fine with Naruto, hands are nature's forks.

To save herself the trouble, Naruto instead marveled at the beauty of the meal. Who knew food could be so pretty?

Was everything the Uchiha's did pretty?

Mikoto's chopsticks froze halfway towards her opened mouth. Her charcoal eyes fixated on the blonde, who was currently staring at her dinner in what appeared to be a solemn demeanor. The Uchiha's mouth clamped shut as she lowered the chopsticks back into her half-finished bowl. Did she prepare it incorrectly? That didn't make too much sense though, Mikoto had this (like every, if not most) recipe engraved into her absorbent sponge-like brain. Perhaps it was something Naruto was allergic to? From what Mikoto could recall both Minato and Kushina didn't have any allergies. Or was it possibly something Naruto didn't favor?

"Honey," Mikoto started, drawing all eyes to her, but she only focused on one extra elegant set, "If you're not feeling too hungry I can always pack away your dinner, so you can have it for lunch tomorrow. You don't have to force yourself."

Naruto was eternally grateful for the opportunity. She would use it wisely. A solemn nod came from the blonde as she stood to her feet and retreated out of the dining room, through the kitchen and up the long staircase.

Sasuke watched her leave, eyes hardening. What was wrong with her? Was _his _mother's cooking not good enough for that damnable brat?

* * *

><p>( ﾟ∀ﾟ)<p>

* * *

><p>It wasn't long until Naruto clambered up the seemingly never-ending staircase. Sadly, Itachi's tour guide hadn't embedded itself into her brain. It had taken the Jinchuuriki three tries to find her temporary bedroom. After shutting, or sliding in this case, the door behind herself Naruto quickly snatched up her rust-colored stuffed fox and hopped up onto the bed. The Uzumaki then got beneath the comforting pastel yellow blankets, wrapping herself up in them like a sushi roll.<p>

And that's how the child remained. She stayed burrowed beneath the comfy blankets, nearly falling asleep with the stuffed animal hugged to her chest. Just before Naruto could nod off into dreamland a loud thunk disrupted her. The sound was definitely distinguishable; the sound of the rice paper door slamming shut. The amount of force used to shut the door was clearly intentional...as if the person wanted to alert Naruto of their presence.

Slowly she unfurled the blankets, sadly making her way out of the blankety womb. The blankets were womb temperature after all, which made it all the harder to leave. The heavenly scent filled her nostrils once more, successfully making her mouth water. Electric blue eyes flashed over to the desk where a single bowl rest, steaming tendrils escaping from the contents within.

The child too precious for the world searched all around the room, but came up with no suspect. It was almost as if they'd vanished right before her eyes. Poof! Gone.

Instead, her crystalline eyes wandered back over to the rounded dish; beside it was the pair of malevolent eating utensils.

The distinct sound of Naruto's rumbling stomach was enough to derail her train of thought; thoughts of her hatred for chopsticks.

Naruto grumbled out loud, begrudgingly sliding off the side of the bed. The second her foot connect with the wooden floorboard a shiver coursed down her spine. Stupid cold floors. Upon closer inspection, the Uzumaki figured out there was a tiny piece of paper with refined black scribbles grounded beneath the chopsticks. The "scribbles" were of course kanji, but having Naruto read was like a goldfish giving a snail advice on how to fly.

A pitiful sigh escaped her lips. Naruto decided to put the elegantly written note away in one of the desk's drawers so she wouldn't lose it.

To stave off her hunger, and appease her monstrous appetite, Naruto grabbed a plentiful handful and stuffed it into her awaiting mouth. Flavors Naruto never had the honor of tasting before burst through the delectable food and onto her tongue. It was as if the meal was having a dance party in her mouth. She savored ever flavor and unforgettable second. Naruto stuffed herself silly, more stuffed than a turkey on Thanksgiving; but she was in too much utter bliss to care. Mikoto's cooking was Heaven. A meal fit for Gods. Before she knew it the bowl was empty. A pout climbed up and settled on her face. Naruto couldn't help but think that went by too quickly, and couldn't help but want seconds; possibly thirds. It was just that good.

The five year old sadly knew she'd have to wait till breakfast tomorrow morning for the next delectable meal. With the pace of a cheetah the Jinchuuriki curled herself up once more into the bundles of blankets. With her stuffed animal friend hugged tightly to her chest once more, and a belly full of delicious food, it certainly didn't take long for her eyes to drift shut and slip into unconsciousness.

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><p>( ﾟ∀ﾟ)<p>

* * *

><p>Whew! Aggressive and possessive Sasuke! I'd like to think at a young age Sasuke is <strong><em>very <em>**possessive over his older brother, than his family. I'd like to think that Sasuke wants nothing more than Itachi's attention, more so than Fugaku's. So please bear with bratty Sasuke, I know it's not really in character but I love making my own approaches; although I do try to keep everyone in character as much as I can. And lets just bask in the good ol' days of Sasuke's adorable innocence where he actually smiles and blushes in embarrassment. And puffs out his cute little cheeks like a puffer fish.

Also, I understand that Naruto may seem out of character as well. But, the poor child has been through a heavy traumatic experience, of course she wouldn't be all bubbly and smiling. We'll get there, I promise! And I'm also going to be going into more depth about what happened **_that night _**to Naruto because when I first started this fanfic I was in 7th Grade and wrote like absolute garbage and seriously couldn't write serious scenes. Please keep in mind next chapter will not be light, it'll have a warning; and don't worry! There isn't going to be rape or anything like that. I _seriously _can't stand those types of stories. They're unnerving.

ANYWAYS! Thank you all for reading! Please don't forget to drop a review if you get the chance, they're very inspiring and I love to read them very, _very_ much!

And here to the people that did leave me a review last chapter:

**HjLostDreams****:** Yes, Mikoto mind was definitely in a jumbled-up mess! I honestly don't know how I would've reacted in that sort of situation. Probably have a mental/emotional break down, curled up in a corner like an armadillo and cried. But I hope I did her justice in writing her reaction; after all Mikoto is an independent woman who was a trained kunoichi, so it was a bit difficult. Taking her character in mind, I couldn't write her reaction to be too...girly, or over exaggerated. I seriously hope I didn't. And as for the "special chakra like Kushina," I was referring to Naruto having Kurama inside of her; just like Kushina did. _**BUT! **_I am experimenting with the idea of having Naruto have the chakra chains, I'm not 100% sure if I want to have her be able to do them. I've been thinking about it ever since I started this fanfic, and I have to be honest; I'm leaning more towards yes. I mean, it'd be pretty cool to keep on the tradition of chakra chains? It's like...Naruto's living out her father's AND mother's will/techniques. And yes, having Shisui alive will prove to be interesting with Itachi. Also, yes again (sorry for being repetitive), I'd like to think this time around Kakashi would be at least a little more active with his training, along with his students. I mean, he's a man of a THOUSAND jutsus, yet he only uses like what...5? And the Chidori being the most used. I intend to change that. But Kakashi won't be the only one teaching Naruto a thing or two...and the people who do teach her aren't Uchihas. (I won't say more because I don't want to spoil, my lips are sealed.)

**yaoigirl2000:** Thank you! And thank you so much for reading!

** :** xD Ohmygosh! Thank you so, so much! I personally don't squeal anymore, I do this loud screeching thing that I (like everyone else on the internet) calls "pterodactyl screeching." It worries people and garners odd looks, I absolutely love it.

**myheartisopen62: **You're absolutely welcome! But thank you in return for reading! It means the world to me. And also, I'm so glad. I mulled it over for a very long time (like a week?) and decided it's better to keep them short; I can update faster that way. And it's _much _easier on the readers.

**yaoiiscool: **You're 100% welcome! Thanks so much for reading!

**JuiceOfTheOrange: **First of all let me just say how much I love your username and profile photo! I'm extremely pleased that you found this story as well, and thank you for that! I don't mind not having more reviews, I don't want to force people into do anything; although reviews are loved. I'm delighted that my chapters aren't completely boring xD. Although I do think I'm going to limit my chapters to about 5,000 words or more so I can update more chapters at a faster pace, sorry if that bothers you. And ohmygosh! Really!? I keep true to the characters?! That's...that's! Ohmygosh! That's...wow! Thank you so, so much! I honestly have a gigantic fear that every time I write I feel like I'm defiling the characters, and making them into complete trash. And yes, I think Sasuke's and Itachi's relationship is most important. It's a bit hard to write because there isn't much to go on, for instance, there isn't much focused on them before the Uchiha Massacre (unless you watched the anime I suppose, I did not.) So I basically have to make it up as I go along, and try to keep it realistic. In my mind I like to think in Sasuke's younger years he's _extremely _possessive over his older brother, wanting nothing more than to grow up like him; because Itachi is Sasuke's role model. I'd like to think Sasuke wants to make his father proud, but wants to make his brother even more proud. I'd also like to imagine that Itachi is also VERY possessive over Sasuke, but is way more subtle about it; and the possessive nature Itachi possess doesn't come out until provoked. And don't worry! Naruto will become the protagonist we've all come to know and love, she won't become all broody and dark. She's just struggling to figure out what's right and what's wrong, and trying to cope after what tragic event occurred (which will be shown next chapter.) Thank you once again for reviewing, and I hope I answered all your questions. c:


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning(?)**

**This Chapter contains violence/child abuse/abuse in general/cruelty. Nothing too gory, I promise, and I also promise there will be nothing more than violence in my story. **

**You have been warned. **

**(But seriously, I promise, it's not that bad, just thought I'd give you a heads up. Also, you're looking really beautiful today. And thanks for stopping by to read this garbage~) **

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><p>(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻<p>

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><p>An eerie breeze swept through the alley, spreading along the scent of garbage and the feeling of impending doom. It sent a chill down the blonde's spine, as if someone had just chucked a handful of ice cubes down the back of her shirt. The wind tousled her sunshine hair, making the tears that clung to her chubby cheeks feel frigid.<p>

With weak, twiggy arms, Naruto pushed off the ground and shakily stood to her feet, the tears in her eyes now blurring her vision. The Jinchuuriki optimistically thought of another escape route, that somehow the Gods would grant her with the luck she so desperately needed to get out of this situation. But as we all know, Uzumaki Naruto's luck was nonexistent because at that exact moment, three grimy brutes that had been chasing her, had finally caught up and now stood before the bedraggled five year old. The smell they executed was more rotten than the garbage can to her immediate left. The trio crept closer to Naruto, causing the child to instinctively step back; they had successfully pinned the Uzumaki against the brick wall. Azure blue eyes frantically jumped around as she feebly attempted to find any last resort escape routes. It was pitiful really, Naruto was like a tiny mouse pinned into the corner by the hungry, fat cat.

The fiendish man in the middle, who was undoubtedly the leader of these remorseless savages, grinned wickedly; brandishing his half-empty mouth. The very little teeth he did own were a yucky caramel pigment.

"Well, well, well," he breathed out heavily, no doubt the energy he had used to chase Naruto was the only exercise he'd gotten all year. His despicable grin widened, "It appears our little game of tag is over, and it looks like I've won."

His idiotic lackeys, who were wheezing as they attempted to regain their breath, snickered at their boss's incredible joke.

"W-What do y-you want with me?" her voice tumbled out, but somehow still remained intact. It sounded much cooler than she felt. Inside, the child's internal organs were grinding themselves into nervous pulp. Her intestines were gone. Her kidneys were disintegrating. Her stomach was wringing itself out, yanking on her trachea.

It was the ringleader's turn to bark out a laugh. The horrid sound made the tiny hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stand up. The despicable man's laugh remarkably resembled a feral dog, dry yet piercingly sharp. Another wave of trepidation washed over the Uzumaki.

The slubberdegullion's arctic cold voice sliced through the increasingly thick night air, piercing the five year old's extremely sharp ears as he spoke, "I had a wife once, five years ago."

First thing to run through the precious child's brain was: _How could someone like _**_him _**_get a wife? _

Then an afterthought pushed through: _I feel bad for her. _

"My wife and I were expecting a baby, an adorable little girl. She was going to be our first child. The baby was to going to be named Yumi, after my wife's grandmother."

For a split second Naruto could've sworn she saw compassion and love replacing the hatred in his dark, beady eyes.

"My wife and I had her nursery room completed. At the last second my wife decided she wanted the walls to be a different color; instead of yellow she wanted cherry blossom pink."

Naruto's eyes stared past the odd man. His lackeys were grim faced, as if this story chilled the marrow in their bones. She then slightly, trying not to bring attention to herself, craned her neck to the right. The only possible escape route out of the alley; one entrance and one exit.

Could she possible make a dash to freedom? It didn't _seem_ that far away, besides, Naruto _had_ outran them once before. And this creep-o in front of her was so caught up in his monologuing and most likely flashbacks that Naruto could probably make her daring escape.

"I told her I didn't think it was such a good idea, I had a bad feeling in my gut," On that note Naruto could relate with, the whiskered-cheeked child felt like she was going to heave up her ramen noodle dinner. "The date was October tenth, exactly five years ago. Do you know what that day represents?"

_My birthday?_ popped into her cranium.

But before the Uzumaki could respond he continued, not missing a single beat, "It marks the day my darling wife and daughter were murdered," he jabbed a dirty sausage-like finger at her as the blazing hatred returned to his eyes tenfold; the intensity could've melted icebergs with ease. "By _you!_ You damn demon! You took away my wife and my unborn child! You ripped my life away from me! My _happiness!_"

With every word came the higher intensity of his grating voice.

Oceanic blue eyes widened. The blonde haired child hadn't a single clue as to what the heck this guy was talking about! Murder wasn't something Naruto was capable of! And in any case, she was only _five!_ How the heck could this precious cinnamon roll too pure for the world, aka Naruto, have killed his wife _and_ child if she was a newborn at the time?

The Jinchuuriki opened her mouth, trying to speak out to defend herself; only for nothing to come out. Not even a whisper or a whimper. The realization that her voice had abandoned ship and left her to fend for herself, sent the blue-eyed kid into a state of panic. Naruto's fears were tripling by the millisecond, and that atrocious, booming sound in her ears wasn't helping her case in the slightest. It was an erratic _thumping._ With every _thump_..._thump_..._thump_...they became louder and louder, not to mention faster. It was like someone was pounding on a drum inside of Naruto's ear canal.

She squeezed her azure blue eyes shut, trying to devise some sort of plan. There was no way of communicating, since her voice had just mysteriously shut down on her when she needed it the most. Naruto desperately wanted to tell the opposing _filth_ society called a _man,_ that she in no way, shape, or form murdered his wife and child. For one thing, the diminutive blonde had no clue who they were! Besides, as previously stated, she was five for crying out loud! She couldn't even color within the lines of a coloring sheet!

That uncontrollable _thumping_ sped up and became louder once the _man _stepped closer. Too close. He was _definitely_ invading her personal space bubble.

The look in his eyes were unmistakeable; murderous. Like the big grizzly bear hunting the small, defenseless bunny rabbit.

No matter how much the Uzumaki's brain yelled at her to _move,_ her short legs wouldn't comply to the overbearing demand. It was as if some awful force had glued her feet to the ground. The five year old knew it wasn't glue. For she, or no one else, had pasted glue onto the soles of her sandals. It was a different type of glue, not the one that you purchased at the store...it was much stronger than that. It was the sticky and terribly messy thing known as fear.

And that's when it happened. It took only a split second. A split second for him to consciously ball his hand up into a fist. The barbaric beasts's large, hairy knuckles protruded out of his hand as it blazed through the air. It moved in sickeningly slow motion, yet sailed through the air at a record-breaking pace.

The impact was booming, almost a thunderclap, resounding inside her head.

The Jinchuuriki's frail body was thrown against the brick wall. She slowly descended down the wall, the jagged bricks scraping into her back until she was face down on the ground.

A baseball-mitt sized hand yanked the blonde-haired child up by her hair, making the scalp feel like it was on fire. The savage beast attempted to yank her up to her feet but the child's legs gave out, making her drop to her knees.

He ferociously pulled her golden hair back, successfully moving the small child's head back as well. His menacing eyes bore into hers.

The beast brusquely gritted out, "Do you know what it's like to wake up every morning and wanting to die?"

Actually, yes, she did. She probably knew it better than anybody else.

"You ruined my life, and now it's your turn to pay."

With one hand tightly grasping her hair, the other went to work and bulldozed right into her stomach.

All air dissipated from her lungs without even having the chance to say goodbye. The grip on Naruto's hair eased up slightly, causing the child's head to slump forward. The Uzumaki pitifully attempted to suck down air like there was no tomorrow but it felt like someone had stuck duct tape over her mouth; making it an extremely difficult task.

The hit forced her stomach back into an unnatural position, a _very_ uncomfortable position. Her arms instinctively, at a slower-than-average pace, rose up to her stomach; attempting to soothe it.

With the discomfort came the rapid increase of nausea levels. A weak gurgling sound escaped her lips through the midst of ragged gasping. It felt like someone was jiggling up her insides, she vaguely wondered if this was how a piggy bank felt like. She didn't have time to think much longer because her body began to take the contents within her stomach on a roller coaster ride up the throat and out of the mouth. It's final destination was all over the man's sandals. The bitter taste left behind in her mouth wasn't just the aftertaste of vomit.

If somebody said he was tempestuous before, Naruto would've laughed in their face, because right now he was positively boiling; the man looked like he wanted to kill her, revive her and then kill her all over again.

The Uzumaki's heart sped up like someone making a killer dash for the last slice of pizza. At this point in time she was quaking in fear.

His malicious eyes glinted in the moonlight; the grimace on his ugly face broadening.

The barbarous fiend grabbed another tightly-grasped handful of sunny blonde hair. He whipped her head up once more with enough force to hear a slight _crick_. Brilliant blue eyes squeezed painfully shut, awaiting what to come next. As she waited in suspense a surprise came her way. A hot tear slid down her whisker imprinted cheek. One, two, three...then too many to count. Before Naruto could stop herself she was outright bawling.

"Stop your crying, you little fiend!"

A new type of wetness was added to her face, this time it wasn't tears, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the guerrilla had spat on her. That did _not_ help the current situation. Naruto tried every single possible way to soothe her frantic mind. She'd tried thinking of happy things; Jiji, ramen...ramen. She was about to die and those were the only things she could come up with, her grandfather-like figure (who she wouldn't be able to say goodbye to) and a food she'd found interest in. Man, was her life grand.

The tears poured down harder as Naruto thought of all the things she'd never be able to experience. Being able to fly like the ninjas, finding her parents, having a family to call her own, ramen, going to school, making a friend...that last one was Naruto's biggest dream. A friend that wasn't a stuffed animal. But nobody would be friends with a demon like herself. Right?

A shooting pain blossomed across her cheek. Scratch that, piercing pain. Excruciating. Her eyes snapped open as the disgusting metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils. The intense pain caused her vision to blur. Then it began to swirl madly.

She could feel it perfectly well, the warm wetness that encased her face; staining it like a face painting.

Electric blue eyes dragged themselves back up to his rugged face. His wicked grin found solace on his face once more. That shit-stain on the blanket of life looked utterly pleased with what he had just done. Deep within her, no matter how much she begged for it to end, she knew he wasn't done.

He lifted a grubby hand, enclosing it around Naruto's tiny neck. The brute then began to lift her up into the air, her back dragging up along the bricks. The bricks painfully jabbed into her back. The Uzumaki's tiny feet kicked back and forth relentlessly, a feat worthy of world-famous soccer players. Sadly, her kicking was not nearly close enough to make any contact with him.

A new, fresh batch of tears drifted out of her wide-set panicked eyes. Both her hands barely wiggled into the small wedge between her neck and the oven-mitt he called a hand. The Uzumaki pried with all the strength she had left in her, which wasn't much. At this point in the game, the five year old had the strength of chicken nugget. Which doesn't even make any sense because chicken nuggets are inanimate objects that were incapable of owning any muscle. Exactly like Naruto. No muscle whatsoever. Defenseless. Weak. Chicken. Nugget.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him raise his other hand, and with exaggeratedly slowness (as to add to the effect, which successfully made her cry harder) he clasped it around her throat. How could she have been so stupid? To run into an alley? She should've ran away when she had the chance. But she didn't. Because Naruto had fallen into his trap; like a spider's web. Instead of freshly spun silk she was trapped in pain and torment.

Despite Naruto's attempts at prying off his hand the man was oh-so-surprisingly relentless.

Naruto was more than positive that her neck, within his stabilizing grip, was going to snap if he applied a tad more pressure on it.

As if Satan himself was on the Uzumaki's side, her terrifying thoughts became a sick and twisted reality. Like an octopus's tentacle coiling around it's prey, the ogre of a man began to constrict against her throat. The merciless swine didn't apply the needed pressure to kill Naruto in an instant, he only applied enough so she could slowly die. She'd bet a million bowls of ramen he was enjoying the sight of her face turning a bluish hue, and the life that would soon begin to leave her eyes.

Naruto was about to lose consciousness right then. Speckles of black, white and gray dotted the corners of her vision. It was getting too humid, her mind becoming too sluggish.

Breathing uneven, her lungs struggled to keep up as her air passageway shriveled up.

But it was before her eyes fully shut that Naruto felt something surge inside of her. Something from deep within. It elicited a surge of adrenaline. It untangled the net that overlapped the fight left in her.

With slow and terribly shaky hands, she barely reached high enough to his large hands. She curled her fingers, brandishing the semi-sharp nailed she possessed. With the little energy left within her, she forced the nails down; stabbing against his hand. Naruto dragged them all the way down his wrist; feeling accomplished when hissing reached her ears. The desperado man's hand released a small amount of pressure from her throat; but it was more than enough for her to inhale a boat-load of oxygen. With the lessened pressure came more room for airway, along with an even angrier criminal.

Naruto knew clawing his wrist wouldn't be enough to escape, her chances were slim to none; and they leaned more toward the chance of none. It would be a fruitless attempt. It was like a kitten fighting a tiger. That was until she saw a speck of crimson blood. Whether it be from his or her blood, Naruto wasn't sure.

The animal before her hissed like a snake. Obviously the blood had belonged to him, but now belonged to the ground.

In a flash, quicker than the blink of an eye, Naruto was sent flying. He flung her back, straight into two of his lackeys. The child landed directly at their feet, her head forcefully bouncing against the alley's hard floor.

"Make sure she no longer exists!" The man snapped, his voice cutting through the air, sharp as a knife.

From where Naruto lay, she could see him cradling his hand to his chest. Underneath the moon-lot sky the Uzumaki could make out the blood that dripped from his wrist.

Opposite facial expressions adorned the lackey's features. They both looked down at her, one's mouth was contorted down into a condescending sneer; the other's twisted up in a sickeningly sadistic grin.

The one with the grin quickly snapped his attention towards his boss, "With pleasure."

The Boss watched eagerly from a distance. Perhaps he'd throw in a few tips on how to abuse the small child.

And that's when it began. The hits. The punches. One devastating blow right after the other. While one lackey grew tired from his evil work, the other would pick up the slack; allowing the partner to refuel.

It didn't take long for both of the men to start heaving, chests pumping up and down as if they'd just finished running a marathon. The smile and nod of the head from their Boss was undoubtedly his unspoken and very personal sign of approval; which of course made the lackeys smile too. But the smile quickly vanished from their lips when they looked back down to the Uzumaki.

Both feeble-minded oafs stood to their feet, until the man Naruto mentally dubbed as Grin, raised his foot high into the air (as high as he could make it go); then forcefully slammed his sandal-clad foot directly against her ribcage.

The air was once more sucked from Naruto's lungs, the stomp vibrating all throughout her small body; rattling her very bones. At this point in time Naruto felt a constant searing pain all over her body, so the stomp was a pinch compared to the other horrors she was subjected to earlier.

Following in Grin's footsteps, Sneer kicked it up a notch. And kick he did. He retracted his leg as far back as it would go, then with the power of Satan, he sprang it forward. Right against the right side of Naruto's face. Naruto had to admit, he'd make a great soccer player.

The five year old's head immediately rocketed to the other side, her left cheek instantly against the cold, hard ground.

Naruto choked, spitting out a wad of blood into the tangle of her once sunny blonde hair.

The trio cackled with glee. It wasn't until the Boss looked down to her with a disgusted face, an expression that surpassed that of Sneer.

"Demons like you aren't meant for this world. The only place you belong is six feet below the ground."

His words were like a venomous snakebite to the heart.

The Boss's beady, rat-like squinty eyes glanced her over once more; before nodding in approval. He definitely enjoyed seeing the condition she was in. The rat-like man tilted the side of his chin towards the exit of the alley, a crooked smile adorning his lips. He began to walk out, his gait prideful and victorious, it was as if he and his troops were walking away from

War; a War they had wrongfully won.

The lackeys began to follow in suit, not before Grin quickly came back for a quick second to land one last victory kick into the side of her ribs.

Naruto couldn't move a single muscle, or else she would've at least looked away from the three thugs sashaying out of the alleyway. The Jinchuuriki's sapphire blue eyes that felt like someone had lit them on fire with a match, were forced to watch the savages's backs as the three of them stood high, tall and extremely proud; they had the gall to square their shoulders.

Naruto had produced an ocean's worth of tears, which now left them as dry as a desert. Perhaps they had punched the tears right out of her?

You could color her shocked when a single tear streamed down her face, alit under the moonlight.

A strangled whine managed to escape between her lips. It was the desperate whine of an animal. Wounded.

Most people are wrong about Hell. You don't have to wait until you're dead to get there.

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><p>(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻<p>

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><p>Thank you, thank you all so much for reading! And hey, look at me, updating twice within a week. That's pretty impressive if I do say so myself. But anyways, I felt I left the end of Chapter 1 of KOE in a <em>really <em>bad spot, partially due to the fact I was more experienced back then than I am now, and I wanted to go into more depth with **_what happened that night_** and that's basically the outcome of this chapter. I hope it was satisfactory. Don't forget to drop a review on your way out, it helps out a lot, and I'll make sure to _always _get back to you! Thanks, and have an awesome day! c:

**P.S. - **I'm _**very **_obsessed with the song **Fallen Angel **by **Three Days Grace **it reminds me too much of Dean Winchester and Castiel from Supernatural! And I'm far too obsessed with Castiel. And if any of you guys watch that show, please tell me who your favorite character is and why. I'd love to know! Mine of course is Castiel because he's so adorable and an awkward cinnamon roll to pure for the world. (And for the love of everything, please **_do not _**spoil anything for me, I'm sadly still on like Season 5.)

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><p><strong>HjLostDreams: <strong>Awww, thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, it means the world to me. And ohmygod! Yes! I'm _so _glad you pointed that out! Those factors definitely will be coming into play with my story. Such as the bathing, that will be happening next chapter where Mikoto actually has to help bathe Naruto. It'll be a bittersweet moment. And for the poor speech, I'd like to think that's what started Naruto's uncanny vocabulary/dialect such as when he says stuff like, "Whatcha doin'?!" I'd like to imagine in my story Naruto will shorten words, just out of habit. She'll shorten words due to how she was brought up in the past 5 years (although the Uchiha _will _be helping her broaden her vocabulary) and I'd also believe it'll be partially because Naruto will have much to say, and will want to say it extremely fast to get all of her thoughts out into words. And Naruto won't be able to read/write for quite some time; like when she finally starts attending the Academy. And even then she'll struggle due to some tampering on Mizuki's side. But fear not, a group of amazing people will help her! (Man, I'm totally spoiling/hinting too much, sorry! xD ) And really?! You don't think I portray Itachi to be too out of character? What a relief! And oh man, Itachi is _seriously _strong, I mean, he's one of the key elements as to why the Uchiha Clan is so feared. But don't worry, he will continue to be strong (not like God strong, but canon strong) but right now he's currently 10 years old, so his knowledge is limited. Right now in my story Itachi is still a Chunin, he hasn't even been offered to become an ANBU yet. Oh! And don't worry one bit! Naruto _will _know she's related to Minato, but not for a **_very _**long time. Naruto certainly won't be 16 when she finds out though. And in my personal opinion, I'd like to think Naruto, even canon Naruto, held some resent/hatred for the villagers, I mean how could you not? They made Naruto's life a living nightmare for so many years! Although there is a certain amount of love there, the love for some of the people within the village that makes Naruto want to protect them. So basically what I'm trying to say is, there's a love/hate relationship for the village that will make many conflicting times/emotions for later chapters/Naruto's life in my story. But I can promise you one thing, Naruto _will _hold some resent towards the village and not be gung-ho about saving it and loving it with _all _her heart. Although there will be certain elements about/within the village she does love.

**michelous: **Thank you so much! I'm really glad you think this story is adorable xD . I hope your thoughts/feelings weren't shattered by this chapter.

**TamashinoSuzume: **That would've been hilarious, but totally out of character, sorry! I do promise that there will be moments like that when Naruto becomes more adapted/comfortable around the Uchihas. There also may or may not be a chapter where Naruto and Itachi have a tiny fashion show and Naruto paints Itachi's nails, and Itachi is found by his mother wearing high heels. And you do? Wow, thank you! It means the absolute world to me. I'm always super on edge that I portray the characters out of, well, character. The Uchiha family is a bit complex to write, due to their complex relationship. It's an awkward balance of love that's silently there. As shown in canon when Fugaku nods his head in approval to Sasuke when he successfully does the fireball jutsu on the docks by the lake. And I suppose today is your lucky day because guess what? Here's the update you were waiting for. Thanks once again for reading, have an amazing day!

**Frz: **Thank you so, so freaking much! I'm really ecstatic that you enjoy all these little bits/elements. And I promise, there will be a **_ton_** of humor and sarcasm in later chapters. I try at every little chance to add something funny or sarcastic, but it's a bit hard due to how serious the chapters are suppose to be. So that's why I'm winging all these Uchiha Massacre jokes. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! And also, Happy Birthday! I'm sorry I'm three days late, please forgive me. I hope you got all you wished for, and had an amazing cake and an even better day! If you liked to, you can totally tell me all about it, I'd seriously love to read about it. It makes me feel more in touch with my readers. Have an amazing day! C:

**myheartisopen62: **No problem, but thank you for reading _and _leaving a review! Both mean the world to me. Like seriously, I grin like a crazy maniac when I see someone has left a review, and I squeal (pterodactyl screech is more accurate) when I get to respond to an actual person who reads something I've created. It's seriously mind blowing! And I can't wait for you to see what happens next in the Uchiha household. Have an awesome day~ (:


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